Charlie III
by djinni14
Summary: Version 3 of my original Charlie story. It is not necessary for you to read Charlie first, however it might help you to understand this story. The question is, what happens to you after you die? Well let's find out shall we? - There is no permanent death of a major character in this story. I promise. - NOW COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Charlie III**

_Chapter 1_

Rick tried to blink his confusion away since where he was didn't make any sense at all. He was seated in one of two seats that were side by side. He didn't have a seat mate, however. The two seats across from also had just one person. A quick look told him he was right up front of what he was taking to be a train car. There were a number of seats behind him.

He saw there was someone behind him and others behind him. That was when he noticed that men were on one side and women on the other. What he couldn't figure out was why he was on a train. He was…he was…somewhere else. He knew he was somewhere else, he was… Why couldn't he remember where he was? It wasn't here, but where had he been?

He sat there. It was a nice wide seat and he had lots of leg room. He noticed the car was mostly red with black stitching though it also had gold accents. There was an open shelf above him and one on the other side. There was a glass door in the middle of the wall. Since he didn't have a seat belt to hold him in place he got up to look through the door. What he saw was a small space that were the couplings between two cars. He saw the door to the next car in front of him.

Turning around he saw a lot of seats and another glass door at the far end. Why was he on a train? He always flew and never took a train. The car was nice enough but he didn't understand.

Then he heard a door open. He quickly turned in place and saw one of those conductors just like those in the movies. He began patting his pockets. He needed a ticket. Except as he patted then searched his pockets he found each of them totally empty just as this door opened.

Rick was in the way. "Sir, please be seated."

"Sorry." Rick immediately sat down. What could they do? Arrest him and have him taken away and jailed? The train was clearly moving.

"The menu and drink choices." The conductor handed Rick a single card and one to the lady across from him and continued his way down the car. The card didn't tell him what train he was on which would have helped. Reading the card, it looked like he had two choices. Each came with its own sides and the drinks…. The drinks were water and juices. Not sodas and no alcohol. What kind of train was this?

Rick watched him leave and while he did open his mouth to stop him to question him he was gone too fast.

Rick went back to reading his choices. Chicken and steak with very simple sides. It didn't say things like green beans with almonds or bacon or anything. Mashed potatoes and not baked potatoes with everything on top. They were all like that. Really simple. "What kind of train is this?"

ooOoo

The same conductor was back to take his order and he had a book to write it down in.

"May I ask a question?" Rick actually had a lot of questions.

"I'm sorry but I'm on a tight schedule." The conductor turned and took an order from the lady across from him.

"Where are we going?" Rick got in before he left.

"Train station, of course," the conductor told Rick and moved on.

"Train station. Which train station?" Only he just kept going.

He wanted to ask either the lady across from him or the man behind him but that would be intruding into their space so he just sat there.

ooOoo

A different man showed up with a cart that held a few plates that he handed out that he uncovered and handed out after explaining how to raise their table so they could eat.

Right behind him was the man serving water and juices. Rick tried again. "May I ask a question? Where is this train going?"

"Train station," he replied and handed a drink to the lady across from him.

Rick was getting frustrated. "Which train station?"

"The main station, of course," he responded and followed the first server with the food.

"You mean Grand Central Terminal?" Only he didn't answer him and continued down the car.

"At least I'm still in New York." But it didn't answer why his pockets were empty. He didn't even have his cell phone on him. He always had his cell phone.

ooOoo

Rick had cooked better himself countless times, however, it wasn't terrible. The chicken was a touch dry and took some extra chewing. The sides tasted more like they'd come straight out of a can and only been warmed up. Even the rolls felt like they had been frozen at one time.

The orange juice that he had selected as his drink was filled with pulp and not to his taste. Then the same servers that had delivered it showed up to clean up and take it all away.

"Excuse me, but is there any Scotch?" Rick asked after one passed him by.

"No alcohol," he said and kept going.

Rick saw the other man coming with an armful of plates and glasses.

Rick made another attempt. "Is there coffee?"

"No coffee," Rick was told.

"What kind of train is this? No alcohol and no coffee. I hate this trip. And just where are we going anyway?" Rick still didn't know how he'd ended up on this train.

He didn't remember booking a trip to go anywhere. He didn't have need to go anywhere. He had everything he needed in the city and if he was going to go somewhere he would have taken them with him.

Rick never saw anyone else and looking outside didn't help at all. Every time he looked out his window all he saw was blackness. The kind of blackness you only saw out in space.

"A dream, maybe? …_Twilight Zone_. That's it! This is a _Twilight Zone _ episode. No, that doesn't make any sense. Mother's the actress not me. It's not even my birthday." It wasn't… It wasn't… "Why can't I remember her name? We're married." Rick was sure of it so why would he forget the name of his wife?

Then suddenly light started to shine in through his and everyone else's window. That had him putting his face against the glass to see what was out there.

As he watched they slowly pulled in next to another train until they stopped. And then just like that someone showed up at the door, opened it, and announced that they had arrived and everyone could disembark.

That had him up and past that man, over to the door leading out, and down the steps. It sure looked like a train station.

Walking to the front of the train he saw signs. But they weren't signs that tell him what he was looking for. There should be signs telling him which way to which street. There should also be shops selling all kinds of junk, but there weren't any.

He finally saw someone in a uniform. "Excuse me?" Rick needed answers.

"Through the doors at the end. All passengers go through the doors." He pointed and told everyone behind him the same thing. From what Rick could see only his train had any passengers that were getting off. But as he stood there looking around he saw a train start to leave.

"Fine." Rick headed for the main double doors along with everyone else. He felt like a cow being herded or a lemming heading for a cliff. He was simply doing what everyone else was doing.

After going through the doors everything changed. He was in a room that reminded him of the room in China or Canada at the Disney World Showcase. There was something to hang onto and what looked like screens all around him.

"What? How did I get here?" He certainly hadn't walked here. He'd simply gone through the doors along with everyone else then everyone vanished. "HELLO?"

That seemed to have gotten him something as a man walked in carrying a computer pad by the look of it. "Great, where am I?" Rick asked him. Instead of answering him the man pressed something on his pad and suddenly all the screens around him erupted to life and Rick saw pictures on all of them.

"Richard Alexander Rodgers. Richard Edgar Castle. Born April 1st –"

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Rick asked him.

"I'm your reviewer," he said. "We need to get through this since I have several more to do that came off your train."

"My reviewer? What is there to review?" Rick didn't get it.

"Your life. Everyone goes through a review to determine where they go next. It looks like you've been busy. Thrown out of every boarding school you've ever been entered in." Rick suddenly saw pictures of each and every one, including people he'd long since forgotten.

"A cow on the roof." Rick saw a picture of the cow on the roof. "And a police record, I see. Stole a horse –"

"Borrowed," Rick informed him.

"Borrowing any object suggests that the owner allowed you to use it. You had none, therefore you stole it. And you were naked at the time." Rick suddenly saw his naked ass on a police horse.

"How did you? Where did you get that picture?" His…his… Rick was forgetting someone or really two someones.

"We have every picture of your life. From the moment you were born, to the moment you died."

"That's impossible no one… Died!? Did you just say **died**?" Rick questioned him.

"Try to keep up, Mr. Rodgers, or do you prefer Mr. Castle."

"Castle. I **died**?" Rick questioned him.

"That's why you are here, Mr. Castle. To review your life and decide what happens to you next," his reviewer corrected him.

"So this is Heaven?" Didn't look like any Heaven he had ever heard about or even dreamed up.

"This is a train station, Mr. Castle. Surely you remember your trip on your train to get here?"

"My train trip." Rick remembered his trip but now why he was on the train?

"The train picked up after your death and brought you to this station so we can review your life. It looks like you've had an interesting life. You've gone from a self-absorbed, egotistical jackass who was only interested mostly in himself even after having a daughter." The reviewer then went back to looking over his pad.

"Alexis!" Suddenly as if by magic he remembered Alexis. How could he have ever possibly forgotten her? She was the center of his life.

"Then you started following around a homicide detective." He put up a series of pictures about that time in his life after taking down the ones of Alexis.

"Kate." Just seeing her had his heart swell even more.

"You've handled quite a number of homicides with her over the last few years. Even this one." Rick looked and saw the wall around him filled with pictures of Bracken. If there was ever a man who deserved to be caught it was him.

"Bracken. All those people he had ordered killed. All those drugs he had sold and all those lives he had ruined. All those families he had destroyed. All because he thought being President was going to change things." Rick closed his eyes since he didn't need to see him any longer.

"She was your third wife. Third time is the charm they say," the reviewer offered as Rick opened his eyes and saw Kate in three different wedding dresses. Only one of which he actually recognized.

"How? Who are you?" Rick didn't know how he got all these pictures. He also knew far too much. He knew there shouldn't be any pictures of any of this.

"My name is Aron Mordke Kozmiński. I'm your reviewer to your next phase of life," Aron told him yet again. Though he was used to this. Actually so far Rick was keeping up and handling it better than most. Most broke down and sobbed though their entire review.

"Aron Kozmiński. I know that name. Where have I heard that name?" Rick tried to concentrate. Then he had it and his eyes shot open in shock. "JACK THE RIPPER!?"

"So you've heard of me?" Now it was his turn to be impressed. "That was a different life. Then I died, went through my review, and ended up here."

"You didn't end up in Hell?" How had he not ended up in Hell? What he had done more than deserved it. He hadn't just killed those women, he had butchered them. Carved them up almost like they were cattle.

In Aron's mind this was Hell. He was forced to review millions and millions of lives and decide where they went to next. Yes, there were others, but time here didn't mean anything at all. Richard Castle could have been there for years for all he knew. Actually, everyone he saw could have been here for years. Time, he had learned, was not linear. Time didn't progress like everyone thought it did.

"We're here for you and since I have several thousand or more to do, we're done here." Aron pressed a button on his pad and opened a far door. "This way, Mr. Castle."

Rick watched him head toward the door. What he wanted to do was go back the way he'd come. Surely they could have saved his life and he could go back!

Rick ran to catch up to him. "You sure this isn't a _Heaven Can Wait_ episode?" Rick questioned him.

"That was a movie, Mr. Castle. We don't make mistakes here." Aron stopped inside the next room. He had seen all the rooms that exited the screening room. Even the one he had been taken to.

"What is this?" Rick was standing in front of an enormous tree that had hundreds of cards on it. No, better make that hundreds of thousands, if not more, and it was massive in size.

"It's Christmas. It was Christmas. I was out shopping for the perfect gift. It had to be perfect. She deserved the perfect Christmas gift after the life she'd gone through already." Rick now knew where he was and what he had been doing. Kate deserved all he could give her.

"This is the Reincarnate Tree. Pick a card then board your train and be taken back to Earth where you'll live your life again," Aron said somewhat impatiently.

"Reincarnate? You sure you don't mean resurrection?" Reincarnate meant go back as something or someone else and not go back as himself.

"How you lived your last life dictates how you will live your next life, Mr. Castle. This is your next life. Select one then go to your train," Aron told him again.

"How many are there?" Rick couldn't begin to count.

"Eight point one million different options to reincarnate into and that doesn't include the various options for each animal."

"Eight point one million. …What do you mean options?" Rick wasn't following.

"Say you select dog. There are three hundred thirty-nine different breeds of dog. Man has messed with God's view of the Universe quite a bit over the years."

"So there is a God?" Rick caught him.

"Of course." Aron thought that was a given. "Pick one, I have another person to review." He always had another person to review.

"What if I don't pick one?" Rick challenged him.

"Then you will be escorted to the train that will take you to Limbo. Where you will remain for the remainder of time itself." Aron explains. He was actually thinking maybe that would be better about now if he had known then what he knew now.

"Pick one. You mean like just randomly pick one? I can't even reach most of them." Rick pointed out a flaw in this system.

"Just point, Mr. Castle. It's not like we won't know which one you actually pick." They didn't make mistakes.

"This sucks!" Rick pointed out the obvious or what was obvious to him.

"That's life, Mr. Castle. This is how the Universe works." Aron informs him if he didn't already know.

"Universe. …The Universe is talking." Rick closed his eyes, raised his right hand, and extended a finger. A moment later Rick was walking out of that room and being escorted by a robot. "Is this a real robot? Are you like a real robot?" Rick felt it take his arm and walk him out of the room as Aron went through a different door.

ooOoo

Rick found an empty seat to sit in and wasn't surprised that this train looked a lot like the last train.

He still had his card in his hand. It was, he saw, actually an envelope and he was betting there was a card inside telling him what he was going to be turned into. "This is nuts!" Rick muttered and just kept looking at it.

Just as the door opened and he watched a man in a uniform walk in and hand him a card, likely telling him what meal options he had. He also heard people who were undoubtedly looking at their cards.

"**Dolphin**!" one called out.

"**RAT**! I'm a goddamn rat!"

"Using his name in vain. Now he knows why he's a rat," the man with the menu cards murmured softly and continued walking.

That had Rick looking at his envelope; now he was really afraid to open it. He looked at the menu instead. "Steak and Lobster or Crab Legs. Why couldn't I get this on the other train?" Rick wondered aloud.

"It's your last meal as a human." The same man with the menu cards came back and left through the door.

"Great." Rick sat back in his seat. He was dead and headed back to Earth by the sounds of it, though to be honest he wasn't even sure about that. He suddenly didn't even remember how he'd died. "Well, maybe it was quick and painless."

Rick chose steak, medium, and the lobster for dinner and unlike the last meal this one was really delicious. He even got coffee to go with his meal. "Now this is a meal."

As they came by to pick up the trash, Rick asked, "Is there Scotch?" It was going to be his last.

"Of course, sir," Rick was told and soon watched someone come back, set down a glass that had ice in it, and pour liquid gold from a bottle.

"Macallan 1950!" Rick saw the label as he poured. "Eighty-three thousand dollars a bottle." Oh, he was going to enjoy this. "Thank you!" He might have been rich but he wasn't going to spend that much for a bottle of Scotch.

"My pleasure, sir. You should read your card before we arrive or it will be a surprise," he warned him and went back through the door.

Actually Rick was too damn scared to read his card. So he took a sip to bolster his courage. "DAMN, THAT'S GOOD!" Rick finished his drink and sucked on the ice to get every last taste.

Then instead of darkness out his window he saw light. If it worked like last time they were coming into a station. He didn't understand how they were going to get everyone off this train in animal form. Especially that man who had said **Dolphin**.

He wasn't sure the man that had said **Rat** was going to last a minute after exiting the train, but who knew.

Rick was still sucking on the last piece of ice and opened his envelope. His card was face down so now he had to turn it over to read it. At first he choked on his piece of ice after he turned it over until he managed to spit it out and have it land on the floor where it would eventually melt. "Seriously!?"

**THREE MONTH OLD MALE IRISH RED SETTER**


	2. Chapter 2

**Charlie III**

_Chapter 2_

Alexis was tired of crying, really tired. Even worse she hadn't been to school for two whole days and that only made the entire thing hurt even more. She hadn't left her room save to use the bathroom for the last two days either and thankfully no one had bothered her. She didn't need for everyone to see her broken heart spilling out and spreading across the floor.

She knew Kate had knocked just to make sure she was still here and maybe still alive but otherwise she had left her alone.

She was maybe a little hungry but wasn't in the mood to cook anything. Maybe something to just munch on. It was what got her out of her room, not caring what she looked like since she also hadn't showered for the last two days.

Looking downstairs she didn't see anyone. Not Kate, not Grams, and certainly not her dad. Who was never going to be down here ever again.

Taking it basically one step at a time she finally made it to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. That only reinforced the point that her dad did all the shopping and most of the cooking so it was a little empty.

Alexis slammed it closed and leaned against it. No eggs, no produce, and no fresh fruits. Maybe something simple like cereal. She found that easily enough and opened it before looking for a bowl. Except she didn't make it that far. Instead the pain latched hold of her and she started pounding the box against the edge of the countertop. The cereal was flying everywhere but she didn't care and barely noticed.

Alexis only stopped when there wasn't enough box left to smash. She threw what was left of the box and the plastic inner liner out of the kitchen and slid down the cabinet until she was sitting on the floor and sobbing. It hurt too much to do anything else.

Kate was letting Alexis keep to herself. It had the added benefit of her or anyone else not seeing her falling apart in what had been their bedroom.

Her heart couldn't take this. It just couldn't. Losing her mother had been devastating. Losing Castle was so much worse. She knew letting him follow her around was a risk but she thought she had been handling it pretty well. It never even occurred to her that he would be killed doing something else. What she did was dangerous but to have him die like this was tearing her apart.

She had called in telling Gates that she was taking the week off and possibly longer. Amazingly Gates hadn't pressed her. Granted having Castle die in the city was big news. He was now off page 6 and on the front page for all the wrong reasons. He was even making it on late night TV.

So the paper got thrown in the trash; the TV had been turned off and even unplugged. She had even allowed her phone to remain off the charger so now it was dead and she couldn't get phone calls from anyone. Certainly not from the press asking her how she felt. If she had any comment. How she and Castle's family were handling his passing.

Kate got out of bed and headed to the bathroom so she could use the toilet. Then she saw herself in the mirror. She decided that she looked the same way she felt. LIKE SHIT!

Kate was thinking of climbing back into bed so she could curl up and die. Right up to the point her toe hit something that hurt like a son of a bitch. "OW! DAMN IT!" She limped her way over to the bed so she could sit on it and examine what she had done to herself this time.

It wasn't cut but she was betting it was going to swell up on her and make walking more of a chore and hurt with every step. Then she heard something else. It started out sounding like something was being destroyed.

Then it stopped, however, that was quickly followed by someone sobbing loudly. Hurt foot and all, Kate was up and walking carefully out of the bedroom into the main room. It was there that she got a hint of what the first sound had been.

The place was covered in something. The floor, furniture, countertops, and stove top. Limping over to the first one she saw that it was cereal. Still she headed for the sobbing sound and found Alexis sitting on the floor in the middle of a mess.

She had no idea how her heart could possible hurt any harder but now it did. Alexis was on the floor falling apart. Kate sat down next to her and pulled her into her. Alexis grabbed hold of her, still sobbing, only now she was sobbing into her.

It was enough that Kate began crying with her. Kate knew how Alexis felt. She'd felt like this when her mother had died and now she was feeling it again. Only now did she really understand that she loved Alexis, too.

Alexis wasn't hers and Kate wasn't interested in trying to be her mother. Even after she had married Castle. Now they were both broken and crying while sitting on the kitchen floor surrounded by cereal that was spread everywhere.

ooOoo

Kate still felt her tears rolling down her face and could feel and hear that Alexis was still crying, just not as hard. "I can't do it! I can't! It hurts too much," Alexis sobbed and barely noticed Kate holding her a little tighter.

Kate wasn't sure how she was going to get through this, either. She wasn't one to think about suicide. She was too damn stubborn for that. Though what she was going to do was another matter.

ooOoo

They were both still on the floor holding onto the other thinking the other would be able to help. That somehow the news and seeing his dead body would just go away like some bad dream. Then the front doorbell sounded. They both ignored it and didn't move. Then it sounded twice and still they ignored it. The doorman was doing a good job of keeping the press out and almost everyone else, thankfully.

Then whoever it was pounded on the door. "Kate, I know you're in there! Open the damn door," a woman's voice yelled through the door.

"Lanie," Kate whispered. While she considered letting Lanie just go away, she was also a friend and she didn't have too many of those. "Stay here, honey." Kate slowly extracted herself from Alexis then stood and crunched whatever piece of cereal she stepped on. Truth be told, she couldn't care less.

Kate opened the door. "Hey, Lanie."

"Woo, you look like shit." Lanie never did have that much of a filter

"Thanks." Lanie certainly knew how to make her feel better. Though at least she looked the same as she felt. Kate closed and locked the door again after Lanie let herself in.

"How are you holding up?" Lanie finally asked her. But she heard something and went looking for the sound. Except the place was littered with something; she wasn't yet sure what just yet. Missing all of them was impossible so some of them got crushed.

Finally at the end of the counter she found a sniffling mess that was Alexis sitting on the floor. "Oh, sweetie!" Lanie was down on the floor to hold her. Lanie watched as Kate sat down next to her and those two looked like perfect bookends. They both looked like shit.

"What can I do to help?" Lanie asked. "Besides finding the vacuum cleaner or the broom." She was done today and off tomorrow. The day after that was yet to be determined.

"Thanks for coming, Lanie, but I think we've got it." Kate wanted to cry in peace or with family. Maybe the loft would just blow up and kill all of them. Just because she couldn't or wouldn't do it herself that didn't mean someone else couldn't do it for her.

"Yeah, I can see that." Lanie looked around and saw what she was pretty sure was breakfast cereal. "Have you two eaten lately?" Lanie questioned them and got silence, save for a lot of sniffling from all the tears.

Lanie offered her assistance at more than just cleaning up this mess. "I'm not the greatest of cooks but I can make something." She didn't wait for an answer and got up to open the refrigerator and saw what Alexis already had seen. They had almost nothing. "Ooo, this is trouble."

Lanie at least found the basics. They just didn't have anything else. Nothing was fresh and nothing was frozen. "I know if I order take out you two won't eat any of it. Then you'll put it in here and leave it forever." Lanie was betting that even with Castle in her life Kate's habits hadn't changed any.

"Okay, I'm going shopping. Do **not** lock me out and not let me back in. Is Martha here, too?" She didn't see Martha but that didn't mean she wasn't there.

"She should be," Kate told her and suddenly wondered how Martha was doing. She was so wrapped up in her own grief she'd only barely checked on Alexis and had somehow forgotten about Martha. She had lost her only child, her beloved son. Now Kate felt worse than she looked.

"I'll be back and if you lock me out I'm going to be furious with you." Lanie pointed at Kate who was still sitting on the floor.

ooOoo

While Lanie was gone Kate left Alexis on the floor and went in search of Martha.

With a little work Kate kept herself together and got Alexis and Martha into the living room and now all three of them were sitting there drinking wine. It was about all they had. Alexis hadn't even said anything and was sipping her wine right next to the other two.

Kate apologized. "I'm so sorry, Martha, I hadn't really thought how this was affecting you."

"I'll be fine, Katherine, we Rodgers are made of sturdy stuff." Martha couldn't help but notice that Alexis was really hurting and she put her arm around her. "We'll get through this, kiddo."

Alexis wanted to believe her but she wasn't so sure. The present pain was so great she didn't see how.

All three were still sitting in the living room and sipping wine when someone was at the front door. Kate got up, betting on it being Lanie and was soon proved to be right.

Kate let her go into the kitchen with two very full, very large paper bags. "You don't have to do this, Lanie."

"I'm still your best friend and I know you have to be hurting. I'm no fool, Kate. I know even after you tried so hard, that you loved Rick with all of your soul. With him gone now you have to be hurting. So I'm cooking. I'll force feed you if I have to." Lanie smiled at her.

"Thanks." Kate didn't really hear force feed, she heard _hand feed_ and wasn't happy about that thought, either.

ooOoo

Lanie watched the three of them mostly move their food around while she ate. She might not be a top chief but it wasn't that bad. Still all three of them did eat a little something.

Lanie got all three of them back into the living room after she was sure they were done eating. She cleaned up after herself and cleaned up the cereal. The box looked like it had taken a beating. Once she was done she told all three of them that she would be right back.

ooOoo

Right back turned into an hour later and Kate opened the door to see her carrying an overnight bag. "What are you doing, Lanie?" Kate might be hurting but she wasn't blind.

"I'm spending the night to keep on eye on you three and before you try and stop me, I have tomorrow off and I'm not letting you all out of my sight until I have to. Besides I'm sleeping on the sofa." Lanie threw her bag into the living room where it landed with a bang.

Kate opened her mouth to try and change her mind, however, she knew Lanie. She might as well cut her loses while she could. "Besides I'm betting you have the best wine." Lanie smiled at her, went to sit down next to Alexis, and did her best to do what she could for the girl.

ooOoo

Lanie had gotten all three of them back into the bedrooms and made sure they were comfortable and not presently crying. She made use of the master bedroom bathroom to get ready for sleep and closed the door of the bedroom behind her.

Kate was running out of clothes that still smelled like Rick and she was going to really hate the day when that time came. For now she was going to wrap herself around what little she could still find of him. That stupid picture of a lion, though, still wasn't being allowed back in.

Lanie was finding that Castle's sofa wasn't just comfortable to sit on, it was pretty good to sleep on, too.

ooOoo

Lanie was up and while she wasn't yet dressed she was in the kitchen making coffee. She was betting everyone was going to need something to wake themselves up with.

What she didn't know was how to make the pain go away. She could count Castle as a friend and while she was hurting as well and was going to miss him, she didn't love him like these three did. She knew the boys were hurting, too, and had told her they would do anything to help. She just needed to tell them what. That was the real crux of the problem. Was there anything any of them could do?

ooOoo

Lanie was sitting at the breakfast bar drinking her own coffee when she heard a door open and saw a disheveled looking Kate come walking out wearing a robe. "Good morning, sunshine." Kate grunted as she shuffled over to the coffee and poured herself a cup; she hummed as the hot liquid hit her throat and made its way through her system.

Kate decided to fight it head on. "What am I going to do, Lanie? I stupidly spent too long fighting it and now look at what I've got." She had yet another hole in her heart was what she had.

"What you've got is a daughter that needs you. A mother-in-law who just lost her only son and you, Kate, have me and all your friends. Plus your dad. You survived last time, you'll survive this time too," Lanie said to her.

"What I don't see is how. Castle helped me solve my mother's murder. Rick wasn't actually murdered by anyone. There's nothing to solve this time. And we both know Alexis isn't mine." Granted she was actually starting to think about having kids with him, but now that was never going to happen.

"Pa-lease! You've been more of a mother than her real mother ever has been. Do you see her anywhere around here?" Lanie waved both hands at the loft. "Do you see her here hurting that Castle's gone? Do you really think she cares?"

Kate wanted to think better of Meredith but was afraid Lanie had a point. Then the doorbell rang. "I'll get rid of them." Lanie left her coffee behind to answer the door.

"Yes?" Lanie saw a middle-aged man with a briefcase. She'd had to get past the doorman so this fellow had to as well.

He showed Lanie his business card. "I'm Richard Castle's personal lawyer. I need to speak with Katherine Castle, Alexis Castle, Martha Rodgers, and yourself if you are Elaine Parrish."

"Lawyer." Lanie was just now catching up. "Um, yeah, they're all here though not all of them are awake yet." Lanie let him in then closed and locked the door.

"Henry?" Kate knew him but wasn't really awake enough to think why he would be here.

ooOoo

Everyone was up and downstairs even if everyone was still dressed like they had just gotten out of bed, which was precisely what they had just done.

Henry opened his briefcase and went over the Richard Castle will with each of them. They all soon learned just how much Rick was worth and how much real estate Rick owned.

Martha now owned the house in the Hamptons. Rick had money put away that she could only tap to spend on the house in addition to another account that was hers to use as she pleased.

Alexis found out that she had a college fund that was enough to get her into and through any college of her choice for a total of six years if she chose to go for her doctoral degree. Furthermore she had a separate account for her personal use. Besides that they all learned that Rick owned a small condo in Honolulu that none of them knew anything about. All she had was an address.

Kate was told that she now owned the loft. She also had a separate account for her personal use. Kate owned both cars owned by Richard Castle, the car that had replaced the destroyed Mercedes along with the Ferrari. And she had a tiny piece of the moon, of all things.

Lanie found out that Castle had left her something as well.

"Rick also left each of you three a flash drive." Henry handed out small manila envelopes that were still sealed with wax seals to prove it. "I believe that you will find a message meant for each of you.

"I have to find a Javier Esposito and a Kevin Ryan next. Any questions?" Henry asked them.

"Mother?" Alexis asked him.

"I'm going to assume that you don't mean Kate but your birth mother. There's nothing in his will that's meant for her. The divorce papers that Meredith Lee signed at their divorce indicates that she has already received all that she's ever going to get. What you choose to do is up to you.

"Anything else?" Henry asked yet again and saw four shaking heads. "On a personal note, if you need my help in arranging his funeral or anything involving his estate I'll be happy to help and provide my service free of charge. Rick was a good friend and I'm going to miss him. I am sincerely sorry for your loss. Rick had touched a lot of peoples' lives over the years and they're going to miss him. I'll let myself out. Remember call me if you need anything at all. I will be happy to help." The door snapped shut behind him.

"It's your house, Katherine." Martha slid the keys across the table to her.

"Nonsense. Rick wanted you to have it so it's yours." Kate pushed them back across the table toward her.

"Honolulu? Dad never said anything about Honolulu." Alexis didn't understand that. She was also still trying to wrap her mind around just how much money her dad had left her.

Kate was trying to come to terms with just how much money she now had, too. She certainly hadn't married Rick for his money and didn't know what she was going to do with it.

She picked up her flash drive, wondering just what was on it. What could Rick possibly have to say? She watched as the other two did the same thing.

"Castle really was a good man." Lanie had stated the obvious. She truly was going to miss having him around. The morgue was going to feel empty without having him show up next to Kate.


	3. Chapter 3

**Charlie III**

_Chapter 3_

All four of them had been left feeling a little dumbfounded. Each of them knew Castle wasn't poor and while the amount of money they inherited wasn't staggering in a billion dollar sort of way, it was still a lot of money.

"I'm going to look up this address." Alexis opened her laptop. At least this had taken losing her dad off her mind for a moment.

"I'm going to make some breakfast for all of us," Lanie announced and went into the kitchen. That just left Kate and Martha at the table.

Kate had keys to seemingly everything and everywhere now. Account numbers with amounts of money in them. While having the money, loft, and cars was nice, she would give it all away in a heartbeat if she could just have Rick back. He was all she really cared about.

"Please don't start crying again, Katherine. You're going to get me started," Martha asked her.

"Sorry, Martha." Kate wiped away her tears. "I just… I don't really know what to do without him. I'd gotten so used to being on my own after Mom died and now I can't imagine being alone again." Why did living have to be so damn difficult?

"You've got us this time, dear, and neither of us are going anywhere." Martha reached out her hand to cover Kate's.

"I know, Martha, I'm sorry. I… It just hurts so much. I'm so tired of having my heart ripped open." Too many people she loved were finding a way to end up dead.

"Found it." Alexis was back with her laptop and read from the listing that still showed it but showed it as being sold. "1108 Auahi Street, unit #907, Honolulu, Hawaii. Two bed and two bath, 9 foot ceilings, floor-to-floor windows, Miele appliances, walk-in closets. 1,349 square feet of living space. The building has a pool, BBQ, beach volleyball court, tennis court, fitness gym, golf simulator, chef's kitchen, dining area, and a dark park.

"Maybe Dad only just bought it. It has pictures." Alexis pushed her laptop away a little so both of them could see. "It's listed at $1,488,000."

"Why would Castle buy a condo in Hawaii?" Kate wondered. Not that she'd ever been there and on her salary was likely never going to get to go there. Though visiting Hawaii did sound nice.

Alexis had a sudden idea as to why. "It's a Christmas present!" Granted they had only just eaten Thanksgiving and it had been an exceptional and their last.

Kate saw new tears forming and instinctively knew where they were coming from. She slipped her arm around Alexis and gave her a gentle hug. If she started they were all going to end up crying soon.

"We haven't even started decorating the loft for Christmas yet." Alexis had always loved Christmas. Her dad knew just how to make it special for her. For all of them.

Kate had finally begun to come around and enjoy the holiday. Now her husband was dead just before Christmas just like her mother. It was a time that was probably going to go back to being just another day.

"We need to figure out if Dad even has keys for it yet," Alexis said. "Looks like it's between Waikiki and Chinatown close to the water front. There's a park located between the two." Alexis brought up a map showing just where it was located.

"Breakfast is ready," Lanie called. The three of them left the dining room table along with everything Henry had brought them to find out what Lanie had made for them. Amazingly all three of them were hungry and ready to eat something.

"This looks nice, Lanie, thank you." Martha found a plate being placed in front of her. As did Alexis and Kate.

"This smells…" Kate was going to say nice but instead clapped her hand over her mouth and raced flat out for the master bathroom since it was the only bathroom downstairs and the closest.

"I'm not that bad of a cook." Lanie knew she wasn't going to win any cooking awards but she wasn't that bad.

"I'll handle this." Martha had a good idea since she had been through this before and if she was right, this just might be what all of them needed right now. Something to fill the pain with joy and heal all of their hearts.

Martha found Kate kneeling in front of the toilet, still emptying the contents of her stomach into it. She picked up a wash cloth and wetted it for her then handed it to her after she was done.

"Thanks, Martha." Kate wiped her face then got up and saw herself in the mirror. She looked like shit and blamed some of it on being sick. She rinsed her mouth out with water, quickly brushed her teeth, then rinsed her mouth out with mouthwash. "I don't know where that came from." Okay, she knew it came from her stomach, but not why. She actually was hungry and felt bad that she'd run away from Lanie's cooking.

"I have an idea," Martha said with a knowing gleam in her eye. "When did you have your last period?"

That had Kate trying to think. Through the haze of her grief it really wasn't all that easy. "You think I'm pregnant? How can I be pregnant?" Technically she knew how and God knows they had sex constantly or at least it felt like that.

It wasn't just her that started something, either. Kate loved the fact that Rick wanted her. He wanted to make love to her and unlike a number of her boyfriends, okay all of them if she was being honest, Rick didn't just fuck her. He made love to her and made damn sure that she enjoyed making love to him.

"I'm still on the pill," Kate blurted, thinking that that should have prevented her from getting pregnant. Until Martha reminded her of the obvious.

"Nothing in this world is 100%, Katherine. You might want to buy some pregnancy test sticks and go see your doctor. But I'm so happy for you." Martha hugged her and suddenly her tears started. Her son was gone but he had left behind another grandchild. Only this time it was Katherine and not that hated Meredith. "Stay, take a shower, and get dressed. You have some shopping to do." Martha hugged her again and left her in the bathroom.

Kate looked in the mirror again and she still thought she looked like shit. Even worse she'd looked like this while Henry was here and he hadn't said a word.

ooOoo

"I'll be right back," Kate announced as she exited the bedroom and walked toward the front door. Then she stopped. "Car keys." She turned and went to the dining room table to retrieve one of the car keys.

Lanie intercepted her. "I'm sorry." Lanie was thinking it was her cooking.

"It's not your fault, Lanie. I just… I need to go get something. I'll be right back." Kate picked up the keys and this time made it out the door. She took the elevator to the underground parking garage and Rick's newer car instead of the Ferrari even though it did call to her once she saw it.

"Grams?" Alexis was in the dark and was betting she knew something that she didn't.

"Just let Kate come back first." Martha had a really good idea where Kate was going.

ooOoo

All three of them watched Kate as she walked straight for the bedroom with her package.

Lanie had cleaned up and thrown out what Kate hadn't eaten since it was too late now and they all waited for Kate to show up and explain.

It was fifteen minutes later. "Maybe one of us should go check on her," Lanie suggested and began to get up just as Kate came out. The look on her face was hard to read.

Kate had three of them and she handed one to each person then plopped down on the sectional, not quite sure what to think.

"This is a pregnancy test stick." Alexis stated the obvious since it wasn't what she was expecting. "It has a plus sign on it. IT HAS A PLUS SIGN ON IT!"

Lanie looked at hers. "You're pregnant!?"

Martha simply looked at hers and smiled. Katherine might have just saved all of them without even really trying.

Kate had been sitting mostly alone until Alexis landed next to her, still holding her test stick as Lanie did the same. "You're pregnant?" Alexis was barely breathing, waiting to hear what Kate had to say. She needed to be sure.

"Looks that way," Kate nodded since so far all signs she had said yes.

"Morning sickness. It wasn't my cooking. Okay, it was my cooking, just not my cooking." Lanie scrunched up her face since none of that came out the way she had planned it.

Kate found herself being hugged by Alexis first then Lanie after Alexis let go of her. "You're going to have Dad's baby." Suddenly Alexis's heart didn't feel quite so broken. "Boy or girl? Sorry, you wouldn't know yet." Alexis knew better.

"DAD'S BABY!" Alexis hugged Kate again and even Kate was suddenly feeling better.

"I'm going to be chained to my desk now." Kate slumped a little since this was going to change how she did her job.

"Not until you're several months pregnant and showing," Lanie reminded her. If Kate wanted to work then she could. Lanie didn't see a reason for her not to.

"And risk losing the only baby I'm ever going to have? Not a chance." Kate placed both hands over her belly as if she was already trying to protect him or her.

She knew that this was going to be hard on her. She liked getting out of the office and doing her job. Now she was going to be trapped in the office at her desk.

"Morning sickness, I'm going to get as big as a house. My feet are going to hurt, my back's going to hurt. …NO MORE COFFEE!" She was dead, she just knew it.

"Technically you can have _some_ coffee. You just can't take it intravenously like you normally do. That and there's decaf," Lanie said.

"Castle's fancy coffee machine doesn't do decaf," Kate grumbled. "It hates me anyway. It does nothing but spit hot whatever at me."

That actually had Alexis laughing a little and Lanie was smiling as was Martha.

"Maybe we can put Dad's new condo in Hawaii to use before you get too big," Alexis said hopefully.

"I do have a little time off accumulated finally." She had used up every last day trying to get married only to have Castle disappear. Then used up what few days she had managed to accumulate on her honeymoon at The Diamondback Dude Ranch that had real guns and a murder investigation.

"Hot, half-naked, beach boys for Alexis to drool over. Maybe she'll even come home with a new boyfriend." Lanie was gushing all over just thinking about all those tanned half-naked men all over the place.

Alexis was shaking her head. "Maybe?" she squeaked and the other three burst into laughter.

ooOoo

Rick stepped off the train and looked around. Suddenly everything looked bigger, however, there was one thing he knew. He was in New York City._ Bark. _That had him looking around for a dog that had just barked at him. It was loud so it was really close. Except he didn't see any dog. He saw a number of people, though. But why were they all so damn tall?

Looking down he saw red and they were dog paws. Flipping his head around he saw a red dog tail. "God, I'm a red Irish Setter." _Whimper._

"Except I know who I am and where I am." He looked up, saw a street corner, and could read the street signs. Now he knew exactly where he was. "I even know how to get home!" _Bark._

Rick began walking and found that he was actually pretty quick and not even remotely tired. The light was red so he sat down and waited. Once it was green he was up and running across the street and down the sidewalk and doing his best to miss everyone who was looking out for him.

"This is harder than it looks." _Bark._

ooOoo

"I could really use a taxi." _Whimper. _Except he didn't have any money. He also didn't have a hand to wave a taxi down with. His primary problem at the moment was that he was on the wrong side of the city. The loft was a really long ways away.

Rick kept walking and sitting at each stop light. He still knew where he was and was aware that he was getting a little tired. So instead of running, now he was just walking. He also found himself getting a little thirsty and hungry. _Whimper._

"Mommy, puppy!" He wanted to let go of his mother's hand so he could move over and pet the puppy.

"No! It's a stray and should be in the pound," she said since she didn't see a collar or tags and held her son's hand a little tighter to keep him in place.

So far Rick had gotten pretty far but still had a long ways to go. However, he was noticing that everything smelled different and everything was louder.

He even heard a siren that almost sounded like it was just around the corner and yet he never did see it. For once he was actually thankful for New York City norms. People walked with blinders and mostly never looked at anyone else. No one wanted to be involved in anything that might potentially involve the police so everyone was ignored for the most part.

ooOoo

He was sure it had taken him hours and now he was sitting next to a building across the street from the loft. However, what he saw was a bit of a surprise. "The press?" _Whimper._

It meant the straight in approach was out. Plus he saw the doorman out front. It meant he needed someone to open the door for him and find a way to get past the doorman.

Maybe there was a different way in. He worked his way toward the door that led down into the parking garage. He only saw a couple of people over there and waited for the road to be clear then raced across the street. The trick getting in this way was that the only opening was the garage door down at the bottom of the ramp. There wasn't a whole lot of extra space. If he wasn't careful he could get run over by a car easily enough.

So he lay down right at the corner of the building, keeping an eye open for someone trying to pick him up and waiting for the garage door to open.

ooOoo

Rick snapped his eyes open, watching as a car left the garage and pulled out into the street. "SHIT!" _Whimper. _He had fallen asleep and had almost missed it.

Since the car was clear he raced down the ramp to beat the door closing on him. Thankfully there was a delay for when the door was set to close. It had started to close but his body hit the beam and the door went back up.

Now all he needed was to get up to the top floor. He looked at the door to the stairwell; it was going to be impossible for him. Then there was getting out of the stairwell at the top floor.

That left him looking at the elevator. Did he wait for someone to come out or get in to go up? The big problem was that he was a dog now. They might decide to keep him or capture him and turn him into Animal Control. So he had to get home on his own somehow.

Looking up he saw the one lone button that sent the elevator up. All he had to do was press it and get the elevator to come to him. "This might be harder than it looks." _Whimper._

Rick tried to coil his legs like a spring and jump straight up. He came kind of close but not close enough. After two more attempts he realized doing it this way just wasn't going to work. It didn't help that he was tired, thirsty, and hungry. Like really thirsty and hungry.

He tried backing up and getting a running start. But all that got was him bouncing off the wall and falling onto the concrete onto his side which hurt.

He was still trying to figure out as she stood there and tried to make the pain of landing on his side go away. Maybe he had something to jump onto first before jumping up. But what?

Then suddenly the door opened and out walked Mr. Evans who he knew lived on the second floor. Thankfully he was looking toward his car and not down at him. Just to make sure Rick waited until he was well past him then darted into the elevator, causing it to to open back up since it had started to close.

Now that he was in the elevator he had the same problem: How to get the elevator to move. This time there were more buttons and naturally he wanted the very one at the top. "I'm never going to reach that button." _Whimper. _This button was just too high for him. Now he was trapped in the elevator and at the whim of what happened next.

_Mr. Evans came home and found him and picked him up and took him to his place and called Animal Control or took him there himself. Or the Ritters came home from wherever they'd gone and found him and the same thing happened._

"Maybe I'll get lucky and Kate will go into work and find me." _Bark._

"Except knowing her she'll put me in the car and drive me straight to Animal Control." _Whimper._

"I'm screwed!" _Whine._

Dejected, he lay down and waited for what came next. Then suddenly the elevator started moving. He stood up and looked up at where he was going. Rick watched as the elevator passed each floor until finally it was going to stop at _his _ floor.

Rick tensed up and was ready. When that door opened he was going to be on the move. "Try and stop me now!" _Bark!_

The door opened and he saw Lanie but didn't wait. He ran out into the hallway, hit the wall with his feet, and raced down to his front door. Except it was closed.

"WHAT THE…!" Lanie yelped when she spotted a dog running out of the elevator and down to the door. Once the dog that looked like a puppy to her reached the door it barked its head off while scratching at the door.

Kate heard something at the front door after saying goodnight to Lanie and hugging her and thanking her for everything. The door had just closed and she had only gone two or three steps. Now she was back and opening the door to find out what was going on. Kate literally jumped out of the way as something small and red raced into the loft. She watched it slide to a stop and look around.

"Kate! I saw Kate!" _**Bark, Bark!**_

However, Kate would pick him up and lock him up until she could take him to Animal Control. What he needed was either his daughter or his mother. He loved Kate, he truly did, but this was his life that was on the line and he needed someone to fight for him.

"Bedroom!" _**Bark!**_

That had Rick racing for the stairs, ignoring Kate and Lanie who were still at the front door.

"SHIT! STAIRS!" _**Bark**__,__** Bark**__! _He wasn't human any longer so these things looked like a mountain now. Rick jumped up onto the first step then the second. He was on the fourth when he heard the door close; while Kate was going to be faster than him, he had a head start.

He heard likely Kate on the stairs and thankfully Alexis hadn't totally closed her bedroom door so he got lucky there and forced himself into the room and saw Alexis sitting on her bed.

She didn't have her laptop or a book and was just leaning up against her headboard. He needed up on that bed and he needed to be there now!

Thankfully her bedroom had carpet so he had traction unlike the main floor. He jumped and had his front feet on the bed and scrambled to get the rest of him on the bed. Then he jumped for Alexis who clearly saw him.

Kate reached the door and saw Alexis holding a red haired puppy as it was doing its best to lick her face clean. Alexis finally got hold of the puppy and was holding it close. "You got a puppy?" Alexis looked at Kate who was standing at her door. Alexis assumed she had let go of the puppy she'd just gotten them and released it so it could come to her.

Rick felt Alexis squeezing him close to her and suddenly it felt perfect to him.

"I'm _HOME!"_ _**Bark**__,__** Bark**__,__** Bark!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Charlie III**

_Answer - Yes during the course of the story you will learn how Castle died._

_Chapter 4_

Kate could easily tell that Alexis had been crying again and now she looked happy. "Well technically –"

"Dad offered to buy me a pony once, not that he really meant it. I never really asked him for a puppy. I was pretty sure he would say no." Alexis hugged her puppy and kissed his head.

Rick had heard every word and while he did have something to say about that, he was just happy to be home and being held by Alexis. Even if it was a bit of a role reversal. However, he kept silent.

"Alexis…" Kate really needed to explain that she hadn't gone out and gotten her or anyone a puppy. Let alone this one.

"Did you buy puppy stuff? Puppies need a lot of stuff." Alexis was convinced that Kate had bought it and needed to know if the puppy had everything it was going to need.

"Well actually…" Kate tried again and looked for Lanie to get some help but she didn't see her and feared she had left like she'd planned.

"I'll get dressed. We need to go shopping for puppy stuff." Alexis let go of her puppy and scooted out of bed.

"Time for you to suffer my puppy dog eyes, Kate." **Bark, whimper, whine. **Rick got up, walked to the end of the bed, and looked up at Kate, giving her nothing but eyes for her to look at. He even bowed his head down a little just to enforce the look.

"I…you." Kate looked at the puppy that was clearly looking only at her. "You win this one but this isn't over yet. We both know I didn't buy you," Kate told the pup that just kept looking at her with those cursed eyes of his.

"Okay I'm ready, you can drive." Alexis picked up her puppy off the bed.

"You're taking it with us?" Kate questioned her.

"Of course. He needs a collar so we need to make sure it fits and he needs to sniff all the dog food to decide what smells good to him," Alexis explained then put her puppy down since she forgot her purse.

ooOoo

"Alexis…" Kate needed to explain.

"So why did you select an Irish Setter? You look more like a Labrador person." Alexis waited for her answer and kissed the head of her puppy as Kate drove.

Kate finally got a chance to set things right. "I didn't. I opened up the front door to find out what the noise was and in came this puppy. He scrambled up the stairs before I could stop him."

"You mean he's a stray?" Alexis held her puppy tighter and looked at Kate with eyes that were filling with tears. She had a puppy and she felt better. Now Kate had crushed her heart without meaning to, she was sure.

Kate looked at the two of them. "Will you two cut that out! Enough with the puppy dog eyes already! We can buy his stuff but he got to our door somehow. We need to find out if someone in the building owns him. I'm not stealing someone else's dog!" It was just the facts and not up to her.

"No one owns me! …Okay, you two own me. God, this is embarrassing." **Bark, whimper, whimper, whine.**

"What owner would let this handsome guy get away from them, and we live on the top floor. How did he get all the way up here in the first place?" Alexis argued even if Kate had a point.

Kate put her foot down. "We buy him stuff then we knock on doors to find his owner." This was how it was going to be.

"And when no one in the building claims him?" Alexis asked her.

Kate huffed impatiently. "We take him to a vet to get checked out, get shots, then we'll talk."

Alexis could see the need for a vet visit but this was her puppy now. "If you don't want him I can take him with me to Honolulu."

Kate groaned. "I never said I didn't want a puppy. I just want a puppy that we aren't taking from someone else and ruining their lives."

Alexis remained silent the rest of the way to the pet store since Kate had a point. It was just that giving up her puppy to someone else was going to hurt. She didn't need any more pain in her life.

Rick got carried by his daughter into the pet store and instantly his nose was assaulted with all kinds of smells he had never smelled before.

Kate grabbed a cart since she was betting they would be leaving there with a whole lot of stuff. Far more than any puppy was ever going to need.

A Star Wars collar and leash went into the cart. Then in went puppy shampoo, puppy flea and tick stuff. Puppy pee pads, four stuffed animals, three tennis balls, each of which were a different color. Then a big 20 pound bag of dry puppy food and a case of canned puppy food.

"Ooo!" Alexis found something else and out came the 20 pound bag of dry puppy food and in went every Fresh Pet tube of puppy food that was in the glass front refrigerator.

"Why that food?" Kate queried.

"Because if it needs to be refrigerated that must mean it's fresh, not freeze dried and impossible to chew," Alexis argued.

Kate pointed out why she might want to rethink this choice. "Puppy teeth."

"Pig ears, cow hooves, and greenies. Rawhide is bad for the stomach." Alexis threw in a number of those things and one big box of greenies.

"So how do you know so much about puppies?" Kate asked her since their cart was getting more and more full.

"Research. I was thinking I was going to have to argue with Dad about getting a puppy but I chickened out in the end," Alexis explained.

"I'm so sorry, pumpkin." **Whimper, whimper.**

"What am I missing?" Alexis stood there and looked around. "Doggie beds!" Alexis hurried toward the beds as Kate sighed and followed her. Kate was sure they were overdoing it for someone else's puppy but she didn't want to tell Alexis no. They were both hurting enough already.

"Dog brushes." Alexis wasn't done just yet.

ooOoo

"Did you find everything you need?" the young woman at the check out register asked them.

"Fork lift?" Kate questioned and listened to her laugh, ignoring the look Alexis was giving her.

"Dog bowls!" Alexis handed the puppy to Kate and ran to find two of them. One for water and one for food.

"Hi, Kate! You think I'm still ruggedly handsome?" **Bark, bark.**

Now getting everything from the parking garage up to the loft wasn't that simple since Alexis was carrying her puppy instead of carrying what they had just bought. Using Alexis's money.

"I need a drink," Kate groaned. "We can knock on doors and leave behind something if no one's home tomorrow." She was done with today.

Kate watched Alexis fill one bowl with water and they both watched as the puppy almost drank it dry. "Thirsty, I'm guessing."

"Better take him outside after you feed him. Or you're going to have a mess to clean up," Kate warned her.

"I forgot cleaning fluid for the carpet and poop bags." Alexis hung her head.

"You can take a taxi and go get them tomorrow," Kate suggested.

"Sandwich bags!" Alexis came up with an alternative to not having poop bags. Then she cut the refrigerated dog food into slices and put some into the other bowl.

Rick sniffed it a lot first. "Aren't you hungry?" Alexis asked him. Actually he was starving, but this was dog food. Not steak, lobster, spaghetti, or even Chinese food. It was DOG FOOD!

Rick taste tested it and while the taste wasn't going to win any awards, his stomach was rejoicing so he wolfed it down, almost swallowing it whole. Then he licked his bowl clean since he'd been starving to death.

"See, he likes it," Alexis said smiling.

"If he keeps eating like that he's going to get fat," Kate told both of them. "Better put on his new collar and take him outside so he can do his business." This puppy was Alexis's idea and she was more than old enough to care for it without her help.

Alexis had the collar on him and got his leash connected. She made sure she had her ID, sandwich bags, and her key to get back in. "Call the police if we don't come back," Alexis teased her and went out the door with her puppy right next to her.

Kate sat at the breakfast bar. Alexis looked alive again and Kate was so relieved. Now she had a problem. What if the puppy actually did belong to someone else in the building and she was forced to give it back to them?

Kate lay her hand on her belly and wondered if this was her first parenting decision. She had a lot of them in her future. "Please let him be just a stray and not owned by anyone. He can stay just don't force me to take him from Alexis. Is that too much to ask?" Kate asked no one since there was no one else in the room.

"Talking to yourself, Katherine?" Martha made an appearance as she came down the stairs.

Kate was all set to say yes but chose not to. "You missed it. A stray dog managed somehow to make it all the way up here then up to Alexis's bedroom. We went out shopping for him." Kate picked up a lone stuffed animal and tossed it to Martha who caught it. "Alexis is out walking him. …Promise not to tell anyone? I was praying to whatever deity or spirit that might be listening that I didn't want to have to take him from her because he belongs to someone else. I think Alexis is already in love with him."

"And you aren't?" Martha challenged her.

Kate shrugged. "I don't know. I just don't want to disappoint Alexis. I remember years ago having Castle ask me to watch after her if anything ever happened to him. I said yes but never actually thought I would ever have to. I was just being nice to him."

"And now you're going to have one of your own," Martha pointed out.

Suddenly Kate was the mommy. Raising her child on her own with no father.

"You'll do fine, Katherine. You have a very good base of support to help you." Martha didn't see any obstacles she couldn't handle in her future.

ooOoo

Martha turned when she heard the front door and watched an Alexis who still didn't look very good walk in with a small red dog that was clearly a puppy. However, based on the size of his paws he was going to get a lot bigger.

Then the puppy yanked itself away from Alexis and raced straight for her. "Mother! _Bark. _He might never admit it but he did love his mother and was happy she was here. But he forgot about the smooth floors and slid right into her legs.

Martha bent down to pick him up and instantly he tried to lick her face clean. "He is certainly friendly." Martha gave the dog that. Plus she saw those puppy eyes. "Does he have a name?"

Kate opened her mouth to stop everyone before they even learned that they could keep him. Except she wasn't fast enough.

"Charlie. I named him Charlie while we were out. I'm not really sure but I think he already knows his name." Alexis wasn't certain but maybe.

"Charlie." Martha said the name and got the puppy to bark at her.

"You may be right, dear," Martha said though it might have just been a coincidence.

Kate hung her head. Alexis had named it and that made it hers. Maybe the owner would sell it if she offered enough for the dog. Anything to keep from breaking Alexis's heart yet again.

"I need something to drink." Martha put the puppy down and went over to the refrigerator to see if there was an open bottle then hunted for a clean glass.

Alexis meanwhile removed the leash and let Charlie go where he pleased. "I feel like a mess. I'm going to go take a shower then go to bed. Good night." Alexis hurried up the stairs.

"Good night, Alexis," Kate said.

"Good night, dear," Martha called out.

"What?" Kate looked down at the puppy that was just sitting at her feet.

"Please pick me up, Kate. I've missed you." _Bark, bark._

Kate just knew this was going to happen once the puppy had reached Alexis. Her heart was shattered in pieces and her walls were long gone. Now this puppy with its puppy dog eyes was looking up at her and in a heartbeat it had found its way into her heart.

Kate bent down to pick Charlie up and held him in front of her. Just far enough away so he couldn't lick her face. "Charlie, huh? I still prefer Rick but Charlie will do." _Bark, bark. _Besides he was a dog and a puppy at that. Did he really have a choice?

"I'm so sorry, Kate. I didn't mean to get myself killed." _Whimper, whimper._

Kate was sure she saw tears starting somehow. That or his puppy dog eyes made him look like he was crying. Now Kate had no choice but to hug him and hold him in her arms. "Don't you start crying on me, too. You'll get all of us crying again."

"Sorry." _Whimper._

Kate easily decides that holding him actually made her feel better. He was small enough to be cuddly and he wasn't getting all wiggly in her arms. He seemed to be content in being held by her.

"You're a lap dog, aren't you?" Kate could just picture having Charlie resting or sleeping in her lap as she sat there.

"You better believe it!" _Bark!_

That had Kate looking down at Charlie. She had to be wrong. He was simply responding to their voices. It was just he always seemed to say something when he was being talked to.

"I'm going to go to my room. You and Charlie are on your own. You do look a lot better now, Katherine." Martha squeezed Kate's shoulder and made her way to the stairs.

"Night, Martha," Kate called out and watched her leave.

"Just you and me, huh?" Kate asked Charlie and set him on the floor. "I'm going to join them and go to bed. Do not do anything you're not supposed to." Kate wagged her finger at Charlie.

"Puppy pee pads." Kate opened a bag and pulled out three. "Now where would I want to poop or pee if I was a puppy?" Kate knew his food and water bowl was in the kitchen and the first floor was all hardwoods.

"This will do." Kate folded out the three and made sure they overlapped. "You have water, puppy pee pads, and a dog bed, your stuffed toys, and tennis balls." Kate went through the bags just to be sure. "How about a pig ear to keep you busy?" Kate put one of those down. "The place is yours." She yawned and walked over to her bedroom.

After finishing her nightly routine she stepped back into the bedroom and didn't see Charlie. She assumed he was keeping himself entertained so she got into bed after finding something of Castle's to sleep with.

ooOoo

Rick was left with a quandary. Kate was his wife and he should be in bed with her. However, he was a puppy and he was betting Kate would be Kate and banish him from the bed. Besides, if he remembered correctly their bed was rather tall. Too tall for him.

Sleeping alone out here in his doggie bed was out of the question. His mother always closed her door and actually kept her room just the way she liked it. He had maybe set foot in her bedroom twice since she'd moved in.

He went over to the stairs and looked up at them. He had done it once, he could do it again. So one step at a time he went up the stairs and was rewarded with a partially open door to Alexis's bedroom. Not wanting to catch her in her room naked since he was a good father, he peeked first and saw her sitting on her bed with her laptop in her lap. "Perfect!" _Bark. _Rick ran and jumped, just barely making it after scrambling the rest of him up onto the bed.

"Hi, Charlie!" Alexis was actually happy to see him and watched him head for her lap and stand on her chest so he could lick her face. "Okay, enough kisses." Alexis laughed a little and spun him around to face the computer.

"Word document. Perfect." _Bark. _Rick reached out with a paw and typed the old hunt and peck style.

"What are you doing, Charlie?" Alexis stopped him and looked at what he had done to her document. She tried to read what he had typed. "_Rtgefcvxklji cvda swqtgyl poerdw" _She shook her head. "Sorry, Charlie, but your typing skills are terrible." Alexis picked him up off her keyboard and moved him to one side.

"STUPID PAWS!" _Whimper._

"I'll be with you when I'm done, okay?" Alexis told him.

He was going to need a lot more practice if he was ever going to be able to tell these three that he used to be Richard Castle. Right now her computer was his best bet.

Rick got back up on her lap and looked down. Using the same paw he tried again only as he watched what he was doing and the screen, he was still screwing up big time. His paws were just too big. He needed a new plan.

"Very cute, Charlie, now off my keyboard." Alexis picked him up, set him to one side, and erased what he'd typed.

Rick lay down and tried to think of something that would work.

"All done." Alexis shut down, closed her laptop, and put it away. "Okay, Charlie." Alexis smiled when Charlie got up and climbed onto her.

"If you're going to sleep up here with me you better not pee on my bed," Alexis warned him. She reached across to turn off her light, snuggled under the covers, and put Charlie where she wanted him. "Now go to sleep. We have all day since there's no school tomorrow." She'd missed enough days already and didn't need to miss any more of them or risk falling too far behind.

Rick adjusted himself where he wanted to be so he could watch her as she went to sleep. He really was sorry he'd gotten himself killed trying to buy a Christmas present. It had seemed so simple at the time.


	5. Chapter 5

**Charlie III**

_Chapter 5_

Sometime during the night Rick realized that he'd moved away from Alexis who was still sleeping soundly. However, now that he was awake he also found that he really, really needed to pee. He knew peeing on his daughter's bed would not go over well besides being embarrassed greatly. So he got up and went to the edge of the bed. Now he had to get down after getting up there. It sounded simple enough yet it looked like a tall jump. Yet he had little choice.

The jump turned out to be simple and didn't even hurt, though he was betting he wasn't going to win an Olympic Gold medal or any medal. It didn't matter, he was down.

With the door still open enough to get out he found himself at the top of the stairs, looking down. He never even noticed but he whimpered over how he was going to get down these stairs. Getting down turned out to be one step at a time. "I just had to buy a house with stairs." _Whimper._

Rick found the puppy pee pads easily enough and he just stood there and peed. "We are never talking about me peeing on my own floor ever!" **Bark, bark.**

Now he was thirsty and drank from his bowl. He was also hungry now, so he went over to the stairs and looked up them. He did have an option for getting fed and besides he really did want to see her and spend time with her. After all she was his wife.

Rick ran to the master bedroom, saw the door wasn't completely closed, and pushed it open. He could actually see Kate! Or at least that big lump that looked like a pile of his own clothes anyway. He was also right. Their bed was really tall. He was betting it was way too much for him.

However…! "**Bark, Bark, Bark, Bark…Bark, Bark!**"Finally the pile moved and out of it he finally saw Kate. "Come on, Kate, pick me up." _Bark, Bark._

"Charlie. …Fine, if you promise to stop barking." Kate leaned over the side and watched as Charlie walked into her hands. She lifted him up and plopped him on her bed.

Kate lay back thinking of going back to sleep but Charlie climbed onto her, reached her face, and licked her. "Okay, okay, enough kisses." Kate pushed him away then Charlie lay down next to her. Kate wasn't sure why but she put an arm around him and lay back down and just petted him.

ooOoo

Rick was loving it until he thought he heard her sniffling and he turned so he could see her. She was indeed crying and it hurt his heart so he crawled so his head was closer to hers.

"It's not you, Charlie. I know you don't understand, but I just lost my husband and it hurts." Kate kept petting him.

"I'm really sorry, Kate. It was just a simple Christmas present buying trip." _Whimper, whimper._

Rick got up so he could look down at her. "How do I get you to see that it's me?" _Bark, bark._

Kate wiped away her tears and kept petting Charlie since it was helping somehow.

"I GOT IT!" **Bark, Bark! **Rick had an idea that might get things started. Without even thinking about it he jumped off their tall bed and took a tumble but was up and running into the closet. It was in there and he knew it was on the floor. He just had to uncover it and get it out of the closet.

"You better not be peeing in my closet." Kate wasn't interested in getting out of bed just yet and just lay there and waited for Charlie to come back out.

"Found it!" _Bark. _Now he had to get it out of the closet. His mouth was just big enough. He proudly walked out of the closet and dropped it next to the bed.

"What have you got there?" Kate hadn't seen a wrapped Christmas present in her own closet. She moved to the edge, picked it up, and looked at it. It had a Christmas sticker on it. _"To __my wife__ from __your h__usband."_

Except instead of making her happy Rick watched her body shake with sobs. "I'm sorry, Kate." _Bark. _This wasn't working out the way he had intended it to. As her sobs lessened she bent over the bed and picked him up and put him on the bed.

"Rick." Kate wiped away her tears except more followed those.

"That's me!" **Bark! **But all it earned him was another pet.

"I hadn't even gone Christmas shopping yet. I haven't had much practice at Christmas shopping. It's been a long time." Kate wasn't really sure why she was talking to a dog.

Rick moved in and pushed his nose against it. "Open it." _Bark._

Kate looked at it. "Correct me if I'm wrong but you're supposed to open these on Christmas Day, aren't you?" She wasn't going to open it now.

"You have my permission." _Bark._

"I suppose since you got me up I might as well get up. Thank you very little." Kate ruffled his head and worked at getting out of bed and walked into the bathroom. Then she partly heard and partly saw Charlie jump off the bed. "No peeping dogs allowed." Kate closed the door on him.

"But I'm your husband!" **Bark, bark. **"Besides, I've seen everything already." **Bark, bark.**

"Less noise, Charlie! Go bug Alexis if you're lonely," Kate called to him through the door. "Get her to take you out for a walk."

ooOoo

Kate was clean and dry and while she still felt totally empty and going through the motions, maybe there was a tiny spark of hope. She stood there naked in front of the mirror and rubbed a hand across her belly.

Castle was gone and her heart was broken all over again, yet she amazingly actually had a piece of him. It was all she had left of him. His money and the loft didn't count.

She still needed to get dressed and start her day. One more day off then probably back to work. She was going to need to call Gates today to inform her of her choice.

Kate opened the door and instantly saw Charlie sitting there, looking up at her. "Okay fine, you've seen everything now. If you tell anyone, it's the pound for you," Kate warned him and went into the closet to find something to wear today.

Onto the bed went her choices then out came panties and a bra. Kate also saw that Charlie was watching her every move. "Don't go getting any ideas, Charlie. I would never cheat on my husband, not even with a dog. Make that especially with a dog. Or a pony or any other animal your mind might be thinking of," Kate told him as she hooked her bra into place.

"I would never!" **Bark! **_Honestly, Kate!_

"Just so long as we agree." Kate slid her jeans on followed by her top, socks, and shoes.

Out in the living room Kate walked over to the coffee machine until she remembered she couldn't have coffee. She also knew for a fact that they didn't have any decaf. "Lanie said I could have a little," Kate reminded herself and decided this would be her one cup of coffee for the day.

"Make your self useful and go wake up Alexis and maybe Martha." Kate looked at Charlie who was just sitting there watching her.

"No need. I'm up and Alexis is gone." Martha walked down the stairs.

"Gone! Where did she go?" Suddenly Kate was really concerned about her. They were all still hurting and she didn't need her to be walking around the city in a heartbroken haze. Castle would return from the grave and kill her if she let something happen to her.

"Something about Christmas and since when did you start talking to the dog?" Martha teased her and waited with her for the coffee to be ready.

"Since I found him in my bedroom this morning. Then he fished a Christmas present Castle had already gotten me out of the closet. I didn't even know there was one in there."

"So how did Charlie know it was there if you didn't?" Martha questioned her since it was her closet.

"I have no idea. How did you know?" Kate looked down at him.

"I bought it." _Bark._

Martha smiled at her. "Well at least he answers you. Now you just need to learn to talk dog."

"Bark!" Kate barked at Martha and both of them laughed.

"Was that Polish?" _Bark. _"You need a lot more practice." _Bark, bark._

"Just what I need, a dog that's a critic," Kate chuckled then poured two cups of coffee. "You sure Alexis didn't tell you where she was going?" Just then someone knocked at their door.

Rick had no idea just why but he raced for the door, barking all the way and only stopping when Kate reached the door and opened it. "Alexis." She had a big box in her hands that had Christmas written on it.

"You found the Christmas decorations!" **Bark, bark, bark. **Rick jumped up and down and followed Alexis into the loft.

Alexis took a shaky breath then explained what she was doing. "Thanksgiving's over and Dad and I used to decorate the place for Christmas. I thought it would make me feel better if we decorated."

Kate wasn't used to decorating or doing much of anything for Christmas. Yes, they'd been through a Christmas together but they had only been dating then, not married yet. This Christmas was going to be their first as a married couple. That was part of why it hurt so much.

"There are a lot more boxes if you two want to help me." Alexis turned and went to the door.

"I'll help!" **Bark! **Rick raced to catch up to her and since the door was still open he beat everyone to the elevator.

ooOoo

Rick was watching Alexis do exactly what they'd done last year. He was hoping for something different, but at least it was looking a bit like Christmas. Since getting a real tree in New York City was usually a challenge, theirs was fake, the biggest fake tree he'd been able to find.

He began taking Christmas ornaments for the tree out of the box and carrying it over to Kate who took it from him and hung it up. Then Rick repeated that over and over again until he ran out of ornaments he could reach without breaking them.

Next he grabbed a mouth full of fake garland and dragged it over to Alexis this time.

"Thanks, Charlie." Alexis smiled.

"Uh-oh I gotta go!" **Bark!** Rick raced over to the door and barked his head off.

"You're puppy needs out, I think, Alexis." Kate gave the task to her since Alexis had talked her into this.

Alexis went in search of the leash and a sandwich bag since she still needed to get a couple of things they'd forgotten the first time.

"Let's go, Charlie," Alexis said after putting her coat on. "I don't know what we're going to do when it's raining or there's snow on the ground."

Rick hurried over to the very first pole he saw and lifted his leg. Then was off since he had one more thing to do. The challenge was that there was no grass anywhere all that close. There was an alley and Rick went in just a couple of feet.

"Close your eyes, please." _Bark. _Rick arched his back and pooped. Then tried to run to get away from this only to come up short when his leash ran out.

Rick watched Alexis pick up after him. "God, this is so embarrassing!" **Bark, bark.**

"Give me a minute." Alexis was trying to turn her bag inside out without getting dog poop all over her hands while still holding onto the leash with Charlie pulling. "I need a third arm."

Alexis managed finally. She held the bag of poop in one hand and the leash in the other and headed for home. But Alexis walked past the entrance that Rick knew well. "We're not going inside just yet."

Rick ran to catch up. It was that or end up being dragged. "So where are we going?" _Bark._

"I'm not taking your smelly poop inside and stinking up the place." Alexis walked over to the bin they used to dump their trash into and threw her bag inside. Then she went inside and removed his leash once they exited the elevator.

Alexis unlocked the door, let Charlie run inside, then closed it and locked it. "We're back."

"I noticed." Kate said as they all watched Charlie pulling out another strand of fake garland and dragging it over to Kate.

They weren't done yet but stopped for lunch and even Charlie got fed who they noticed ate it so fast he must be inhaling it.

"BURP!" Rick felt air escape almost immediately after he finished eating. "Sorry." _Bark._

"Where exactly did you two say you got this dog?" Martha questioned them since so far he was really weird.

"Ask Lanie. She left and he came in. We still need to put up Found Puppy posters on each floor and the garage. No one just abandons a puppy like this one," Kate reminded everyone.

"Do we have to?" Alexis pleaded.

"If suddenly you lost Charlie wouldn't you want him back?" Kate asked her.

"I'm with Alexis. Please don't give me away." _Bark, bark, bark._

Kate looked at Charlie and tried to figure out this dog. He'd shown up out of the blue and every time anyone said anything, he barked. And what he was doing with all this Christmas stuff? If Castle was still alive he would say there was a story here but she wasn't the writer in this family. Besides he was just a dog.

ooOoo

They were just about done and Alexis was walking Charlie again. "Martha?" Kate had a question but just asking it meant she didn't know what to think.

"Baby question or dog question?" Martha asked her.

"More of a Charlie question," Kate sighed.

"I've never had a dog before. Couldn't really afford one when Richard was little. We were struggling just to survive. Richard's ability to write is what got him his money. Now I've seen dogs on TV like Lassie who are shown to be really smart. Is that normal? You're asking the wrong person.

"However, I can tell you if you take that little dog away from Alexis it's going to crush her. She's lost her father who spent all these years raising her all alone. I understand that you loved my son and we're both hurting. Our pain is nothing compared to her pain, Kate." Martha knew that much for certain.

Kate knew her pain clearly. She was broken and had no idea how to put herself back together again. Her one life raft was the fact that she was pregnant with Castle's baby. Though she still had to get in to see her doctor to make sure.

"And if I'm taking a puppy from a little girl who has already given her heart to this animal? Crush one little girl's heart so I can save Alexis's heart?" Kate wasn't sure she could do that.

"Just be ready for how Alexis is gong to take this," Martha warned her. "Welcome to the world of being a parent."

"Thanks," Kate told Martha since now she was wondering if she was good enough to be a mommy. How Castle did it all alone still amazed her. Then Alexis came back with Charlie who rushed to Kate, misjudged the jump, and didn't make it up onto the sectional where Kate was sitting and resting. She bent down to pick him up and put him in her lap.

Rick was right where he wanted to be and just rested in Kate's lap and let her pet him. At least she had her hands on him.

"He's going to need shots and visit the vet," Kate informed Alexis as she sat down next to her.

"We already have an appointment in two days. I tried to make it when I thought I would be home from school so I could take him." Alexis was way ahead of her.

"Shots!" _Whimper!_

"He seems to do that a lot," Alexis commented and stared at Charlie who was in Kate's lap.

"I've noticed. Someone taught him to go outside. No puppy I know is this good and I found he had used the puppy pee pads last night as well," Kate remarked.

"Can we just put one sign up? Say down in the garage, maybe?" Alexis didn't want to lose him. What was left of her heart was already wrapped up around him.

Kate moaned. "Fine, but when he goes to the vet and we find out he has a chip and learn who he belongs to that might be the end of it."

"Microchip." She hadn't thought of that. "Maybe we can buy him from them? Dad left behind a lot of money." Alexis really wanted something she could hold onto that allowed her to keep Charlie.

"We can ask if or when that time comes," Kate agreed since it meant not breaking Alexis's already fragile heart. Not to mention her own as she sat there and petted him.

"Does this building allow pets?" Kate questioned her since she didn't really know.

"Oops." Alexis shrugged since she didn't know either.

"Something else we need to figure out." Kate was finding that keeping this puppy was turning into a lot of work, not to mention expensive. Not that she had spent a cent on Charlie yet. So far it was all Alexis's money.

"If we're going to eat one of us needs to start work on dinner," Kate announced. She scooped up Charlie, leaned over to Alexis and dropped him in her lap, then got up to go to the kitchen.

ooOoo

Charlie jumped onto Alexis's bed again that night and she moved him so that she could hug him while she went to sleep.

Once again Rick woke up and realized that he really needed to go. He jumped off her bed and went down the stairs one step at a time to reach the puppy pee pads. After that he hurried into Kate's room and since she wasn't awake to lift him up he slept on the floor.

ooOoo

"This is so not a good idea. You've never met Gates," Kate told Charlie who was in the passenger seat and had his front feet planted firmly against the front console of her cruiser as she drove into work. She noticed that he was watching everything and was wagging his tail almost impossibly fast.

"I have puppy dog eyes. Even Gates can't resist these babies." _Bark, bark, bark._

"Still not a good idea," Kate warned him.

Kate parked, gathered up Charlie, and made her way to the elevator. "Remember, you let me know when you need to go for a walk. You do anything inside and Gates will kick both of us out. Got it?" Kate almost couldn't believe she was talking to a dog.

Just her luck and everyone was already in as she sat down after putting Charlie on the floor and taking off her coat and hanging it up.

"Charlie. Charlie, no!" Kate whispered as loud as she dared as she watched him run straight to Esposito.

"Hi, Javi, you look great as usual." _Bark, bark._

"Charlie, no barking. We talked about this." Kate caught up to these two.

"You talked, I didn't listen as usual. You should know that by now." _Bark, bark, bark._

"Well look at you." Javi leaned down to pick up the puppy. "I'm guessing you're Charlie." Javi held him out in front of him. He knew puppies; they liked to lick and they had puppy teeth.

"Detective Beckett?" Gates was out of her office and suddenly Kate found Charlie back in her arms.

Kate turned to face her. "Sir."

"Are you sure you are ready to return to work?" Gates wanted her here at her best, not sitting at her desk crying.

"I'm fine, sir. I need something to keep me busy." Kate repeated to her what she'd told herself to get her in here.

"And why is there a puppy in my precinct?" K9 units that were device dogs maybe but not a puppy.

"Charlie's new and he's wormed his way into all of our hearts. Martha got called in to do a review of the play she's in. Alexis went back to school today and I just didn't have time to find someone or somebody to watch him. He's been really good at home." Kate was still amazed that they hadn't yet found an accident anywhere and he was hitting the puppy pee pads.

Gates looked at the puppy in Kate's arms and mostly saw nothing but puppy dog eyes looking right at her. She knew what she should be saying and that was to get rid of the puppy. It had no place in her precinct.

"Just make sure it doesn't make a mess of my precinct or I'll kick both of you to the curb." Then Gates turned to walk away. But suddenly she stopped. "And Beckett I am truly sorry for your loss. Mr. Castle may have been seriously unorthodox in his methods however this precincts closure rate suggests he did serve a purpose." Gates went back to her office.

"Maybe she does have a soul," Espo said very softly.

"Just don't let her hear you say that," Kate whispered.

"I told you no one could resist real puppy dog eyes." _Bark, bark._

"And no barking in my precinct," Gates yelled from her desk.

"I take it back," Espo muttered.

Kate sat at her desk and leaned down to put him on the floor. Instead for reasons that escaped her she put him in Castle's chair next to her desk.

"Remember the deal, Charlie. You let me know when you need to go outside or Gates will throw both of us out." She still needed to get him some water then was up to put his refrigerated food in the refrigerator.

However, there was one more thing she needed to talk to Gates about. She missed seeing Charlie jump down and follow her into Gates' office.

Kate knocked. "One final thing, sir. I want to officially request I be restricted to desk duty."

"May I ask why?" Gates needed a really good reason to keep her best detective out of the field.

"I'm pregnant and don't want to risk losing my baby," Kate told her.

"**Pregnant!**"_**Bark, Bark! **_She could have warned him before they got there.

That had Kate looking down and saw puppy dog eyes looking up at her. It also had Gates standing up and looking over her desk down at puppy dog eyes.

As they both watched, Charlie began spinning in a tight circle, barking his head off.

Kate bent down to pick him up to get him to shut up. But all that got her was a clean face.

"Request granted," Gates said with a nod. "Congratulations, Detective. I'm sure Mr. Castle is happy wherever he is."

"**You're damn right he's happy! We're PREGNANT!**"_**Bark, bark, bark, bark. **__Lick, lick, lick, lick._


	6. Chapter 6

**Charlie III**

_Chapter 6_

Kate was sitting at her desk trying to catch up with what she'd missed since Castle's death. However, her peripheral vision showed that Charlie was actually sitting in Castle's old chair nice and upright and just staring at her. "What are you looking at?" His staring at her was starting to get to her. "All this staring is creepy, you know," Kate chided.

Actually Rick had a lot he wanted to say. A great deal, actually, ever since learning that Kate was pregnant. His problem was he had no doubt that if he started barking or made too much noise Gates would indeed throw him and probably Kate as well out of the precinct for the day. So he chose to sit there and stare at her. Maybe if he tried hard enough he could beam his questions into her brain.

"Why don't you go stare at Ryan for a change," Kate suggested and turned back to her computer screen so she could keep reading. Except her peripheral vision told her that Charlie just kept sitting there staring at her. If anything this was worse than when Castle sat there staring at her.

What was worse was that she couldn't ask Charlie why he wasn't playing some stupid game on his phone since he didn't have a phone or hands to play the game with.

"I need coffee." Kate got up. "And don't you move." She pointed at Charlie and walked into the breakroom. She was happy that she hadn't yet had her lone cup of coffee for the day yet. But if Charlie just kept sitting there and staring at her with those eyes of his this one cup of coffee wasn't going to be enough.

Rick saw a chance and jumped down off his chair then up into Kate's chair. Sure enough she had left her computer on. It was a police station. Who would sneak in and try to use one of their computers? So security of their computers at their desks was a bit lax.

With both paws on her desk he reached out carefully with the same paw and tried very hard to type just the letter R. He was still trying really hard to type individual letters when suddenly…

"CHARLIE! What do you think you're doing?" Kate scolded and Rick found himself being picked up and put back in his chair. "This time stay there." Kate sits down and picks up her cup of coffee and takes a sip and then looks at what Charlie had done to what she had open at the time.

Rticvkl castylkee. This time Kate tried to read it and it didn't make any sense. Still… "Espo." Kate motioned him over. "Does this make any sense to you?"

Espo read what was typed. "Is your keyboard malfunctioning?" Espo questioned her which had Kate changing lines and typing but everything came out perfectly. "So who typed it?"

Kate nodded at Charlie. Espo frowned. "Since when did dogs learn to type? You sure you don't need another day off? We all miss Castle, Beckett. He may not have been a cop but he thought outside the box. He was good." Espo went to his desk and both of them missed seeing Charlie watching only him until he sat down.

Rick was back to the same problem. He didn't want to be thrown out so he had to keep quiet and doing that was seriously testing his will power. Especially when he knew he had none. Never had much.

"What did you think you were doing?" Kate asked him then erased what he had typed and got back to work.

Rick saw that he needed a lot more practice. Still he had come closer this time. His paws were just too big and the keys were too small.

ooOoo

Rick was back in his chair after walking around Kate and whimpering. It was all he had since he had been told not to bark. Fortunately Kate got the message and took him down in the elevator and out onto the sidewalk; she walked him around until he'd done his business. Then they stopped at the closest trash bin so Kate could toss her sandwich bag.

"This is still really embarrassing." _Bark, bark._

Now he was sitting there and watching Kate work. "Still creepy, Charlie," Kate muttered and kept working until it occurred to her that she needed to give him water and feed him. Soon she was watching Charlie wolf down what she gave him in a cereal bowl that she'd found in the breakroom. His water bowl was the largest coffee cup she could find for him to drink from.

Once he was done she watched him jump back up into Castle's chair. She opened her mouth and looked at him as he looked back with those puppy dog eyes. Shaking her head she closed her mouth to since it was literally impossible.

Kate stared at him for another couple of minutes then got back to work. "We got a body." Ryan waved his Post-it Note for a Espo and Kate to see. "You coming, Beckett?" She was still just sitting there.

"I'm desk bound. You two are on your own until you get back," Kate said.

Espo looked at Gates who was on the phone. "Gates is that angry at you again? You'd think Ms. Cast Iron would give you a break." Castle, her husband was dead. Okay, Gates didn't like him much but did she have to be that big of an ass?

"It's not that. Just go, I'll be here when you get back." Kate watched them leave.

"You could have told them." _Whimper, whimper._

"You keep out of this. I'll tell them when I'm ready to tell them," Kate told Charlie and turned to her computer.

Since Kate was being a coward and he was bored stiff he jumped down off his chair and wandered around looking at everyone.

So far his puppy dog eye look had everyone petting him and smiling. As for him he was loving it and decided to risk it. He was only going to be a puppy for just so long. Her door was open and she was bent over her desk writing something. He walked right in, sat down, and looked up. But there was a problem. Since he couldn't see her that meant she couldn't see him.

"Why are you so mean?" _Bark!_

That had Gates stopping and looking out her window but yet she didn't see anything. She decided to stand up and look over her desk. She immediately saw the dog just sitting there looking up at her with those eyes.

Gates sat back down to avoid those eyes and got back to work.

"You didn't answer my question." _Bark._

"What do you want?" Gates asked without looking. Then she heard nails on her floor and soon saw the puppy to her left, sitting down and looking up at her.

"Those eyes don't work on me," Gates said and kept looking at him. However, all he did was keep looking up at her. "What do you want from me?"

"Gotcha!" _Bark._ Rick got up, walked up to her, and put his front paws on her legs. Just as he expected she lifted him up and set him in her lap.

"My two girls see those eyes and we'll both be in trouble," Gates told him.

"So you hate dogs." _Whimper. _And more puppy dog eyes.

"Charlie! Sorry, sir. He was just sitting there watching me work one minute and the next…" Kate reached across to take her dog from Gates who handed him over.

"You're lucky he is one well behaved dog." Gates was amazed that all the dog had mostly done was sit there and look at her. She was the one that had picked him up.

"I'll keep a closer eye on him, sir." Kate walked out of her office and back to her desk. "Since you can't sit still maybe it's time for another walk." Kate hooked up his leash and took him to the elevator.

"I told you she couldn't resist my puppy dog eyes." _Bark, bark._

"You need to be more careful or Gates will throw both of us out," Kate warned him and stepped into the elevator.

"Not against me." _Bark. _Rick was pretty sure that with just a little more work he would finally get Gates to leave the Dark Side of the Force and come back to the light.

ooOoo

In the end all Kate got out of him was a little pee and now Charlie was back in his chair while Kate got back to work.

Finally Ryan and Espo came back with their case and now Kate had something worthwhile to work on.

Kate was using their notes to set up a murder board and didn't miss that Charlie was off his chair. But he was sitting on the floor not too far behind her and was watching her draw on the white board.

Since she knew he couldn't read a word of it she just kept writing until she was done with their notes. Then she was handed photos that got printed out to go on the board.

"Did Lanie say anything about when she would be done?" She never did but maybe today was different.

"Only what's in the notes," Espo replied and picked up his phone to make a call.

ooOoo

Kate had moved her chair so that she was sitting there looking at the board and trying to get it to talk to her. Ryan and Espo kept handing her little bits of information that had her up and writing before sitting back down again.

She began talking to herself. "Eric Mercer. …Run down by a black Charger with Santa behind the wheel."

"I can already hear what Castle would think of this." Ryan was actually thinking this case might be fun. "Sorry." He saw the look Kate was giving him.

"Ryan! My man!" _Bark, Bark. _Rick got up, walked over to Ryan, pawed his leg, and whimpered.

Ryan picked Charlie up. "Maybe Charlie here has a theory," Ryan offered and suddenly Rick found himself hanging out in space. "Less tongue, Charlie." Ryan put him back on the floor.

"Evil alien Santa. I like it." **Bark, bark.**

"No barking, Detective," Gates yelled from her office.

Kate turned to remind Charlie of the deal and watched him lay his head on the floor and look up at her with those eyes of him. "Okay, now that's creepy."

"Well they do say dogs can learn a lot of words. Some breeds more than others," Ryan pointed out.

Kate shook her head. "He's three months old at best." He couldn't know that many words already, could he?

"So you have a genius puppy. Now all you need to do is learn how to speak dog," Ryan smiled at her.

"I think I'll let Alexis figure that part out," Kate chuckled.

ooOoo

Kate had sent the boys out on a lead that concerned a mob connection.

"A mob hit! I love this case!" _Bark, bark._

That had Kate looking down at him. "Sorry!" _Whimper. _Rick put his head back down on the floor and looked up at her with his puppy dog eyes.

Kate was interrupted from reminding him of the deal yet again when her phone rang. Thinking it was one of the boys she didn't look at who. "Beckett."

"KATE! I can't find Charlie anywhere!" Alexis all but yelled into her phone. She had raced home from school and hadn't given her friends even a second to talk to her, thinking that Charlie was home all alone and better be hitting the puppy pee pads.

"I have Charlie with me," Kate reassured her and only then it occurred to her that she hadn't told anyone or even left a note.

"You have Charlie? …In the precinct?" Had she heard correctly?

"Yeah, sorry. Gates is willing to let him stay so long as he doesn't do his business on her floor and _doesn't bark." _Kate glared down at Charlie since he had just barked and tried to ignore those eyes of his.

"I'll come get him." Alexis hung up on her and picked up her coat. She raced out the door and down to find a cab to get her to the precinct.

"Alexis, you don't… She hung up on me." Kate looked at her phone before putting it away. "Sounds like Alexis is coming to pick you up and take you home."

"I don't want to go home!" _Whimper, whine._

"Alexis loves you already, I don't think I have a choice once she gets here," Kate said to Charlie.

"I could hide." _Woof. _Rick tried barking softly as he scrambled for Kate's desk and hid under it.

"Charlie, get out here. I thought you liked Alexis. …Charlie." Kate put her hands on her hips, stared down at her desk, and finally saw Charlie slinking out from under her desk. Kate picked him up and put him down in his chair. "What do you expect me to tell Alexis? That you don't like her? That you don't love her? That you don't want to spend time with her? She lost her father and she's hurting," Kate scolded him.

She at least had a case to work on and she was pregnant. Charlie and maybe herself and Martha was all Alexis had left.

Rick lay down on his chair and looked up at her with his eyes. "Sorry." _Whimper._

Kate told him how things were going to go. "Maybe Gates will let you come back, but you are going home with Alexis. She needs you."

"Do you promise to tell me about the killer Santa?" _Bark, bark. _Then he got up and twisted to look at Gate's office since he had barked again.

"Now sit there and be a good boy until Alexis gets here." Kate went back to her board and tried to figure out how the mob was involved with this case.

ooOoo

"CHARLIE!" Alexis raced to where he was sitting in his chair and scooped him up.

"I'm really sorry, Alexis," Kate apologized. "I should have at least left a note. I didn't know what else to do with him. Martha got a call after you left for school so I brought him with me. Gates has actually been pretty good about it."

Alexis was letting Charlie lick her face until she'd had enough. "I was afraid he might have been left all alone or Grams wasn't taking him out for a walk or feeding him," Alexis admitted which sounded bad since Martha was her grandmother and she loved her a lot.

"He's actually been amazingly good and I brought some food for lunch with me for him," Kate said.

"No one can resist my puppy dog eyes. Not even Gates." **Bark, bark, bark.**

"NO BARKING!" Gates yelled from her office.

"Well, mostly Gates is okay with it," Kate smiled which had Alexis grinning.

"Do I go home with him?" Alexis inquired.

"You can sit and stay if you want. Just keep Charlie from barking or Gates will throw all three of us out." Kate smiled when Alexis sat in Castle's chair with Charlie in her lap.

ooOoo

Ryan and Espo were back with more information.

"This is your case?" Alexis was up and still holding Charlie. "Dino Scarpella. Dad used to know him. He said he used him for one of his Derek Storm books. Dad says he's actually a nice guy."

"For a killer mobster," Kate fired back.

"All I know is what Dad told me. He owns a strip club somewhere, I think," Alexis informed her.

Kate immediately considered talking to him. Then she put a hand on her belly and remembered she asked to be chained to her desk. It was going to be up to the boys to see if he was willing to talk.

"Here, take Charlie." Alexis handed over Charlie to Kate.

"Why?" Kate took him but didn't understand why. Bathroom trip maybe?

"I'm going to go talk to him," Alexis stated firmly.

"A mobster in a strip club? Not a chance, Alexis. …Stop right there, young lady!" Kate tried to sound forceful and was happy that Alexis actually did stop.

Alexis argued her case. "Dad said he was nice. I thought you trusted Dad."

"Castle, yes, a killer mobster, no, and you're not setting foot in a strip club. Out of the question." Kate wasn't willing to listen to this stupidity. "Castle asked me once to take care of you if anything happened to him and that's exactly what I'm going to do. I may not be your mother but you _are _ going to listen to me. I'm not going to let him curse me from the grave because I let something happen to you." Kate walked over to her and shoved Charlie into her arms.

"My heart is broken enough without losing you too," Kate said quietly and watched Alexis relent.

"I'm sorry, I was just wanted to help." Alexis hung her head which allowed Rick to lick her face. That was until Alexis had had enough of that.

Kate stepped up and did her best to hug her with Charlie trapped between them. "I love you, Alexis, and I can't handle another loss. I need you to think. You're a smart young lady and I need you to think," Kate begged her.

"I'm sorry. I really was just trying to help," Alexis said, realizing she didn't remember hearing Kate admit that she loved her before.

"I know, Alexis, I know. But if you want to help I need you to sit down and tell me all you know about Dino Scarpella or what Rick told you about him." Kate wanted her to do that instead.

"Detective?" Gates was looking for an update and overlooked Alexis holding the puppy for now.

"Our vic is a doctor. With a lead from Detective McBride we're looking into Dino Scarpella," Kate reported.

"A mob hit? On their own doctor?" Gates questioned.

"Ryan and Espo are out interviewing him. If necessary we can bring him in and question him here but that will likely mean he will just lawyer up. He's not stupid," Kate said.

"Get all the help you can from the gang squad. If there's another gang war starting I want to know about it. But why hit their own doctor?" Gates couldn't think of a reason for that.

Alexis offered a possibility. "What if it's not gang related? Even gangsters have wives and kids, right?"

Kate was willing to bite. "Wrong girlfriend or maybe the wrong mistress?"

"Abortion gone wrong, maybe?" Alexis was on a roll and Gates wasn't throwing her out.

"Start digging, Detective. Find out everything about his family. Brothers, sisters, children, everything. And check on all known underground medical beds that would be capable of this." Gates went back toward her office. "Thank you, Miss Castle," Gates called over her shoulder and entered her office.

That had Kate looking down at Alexis. "Maybe I can come in every day after school and help like Dad did." Alexis was all smiles.

"Or you could mentor with Lanie again." Kate had realized that Alexis seeing dead bodies didn't faze her a bit. However, what she didn't need was her following anyone out into the field.

"Perhaps. What do you think, Charlie?" Alexis asked him.

"I love both of you more than I can ever say." **Bark, bark, bark.**

"No barking!" Gates yelled from her office. **That** had Kate and Alexis smiling wide.


	7. Chapter 7

**Charlie III**

_Chapter 7_

All three of them made it home after Alexis took Charlie out for a walk before going inside. It seemed the press at last had something better to do so they were all gone by the time they got home so Alexis got to walk Charlie in peace.

Kate found Charlie sliding into her legs as she was in the kitchen looking for something to make for dinner. "I'm finally glad I listened to my mother as she taught me how to cook," Kate told Alexis as she came into the kitchen to join her.

"Dad taught me everything I know," Alexis murmured and yes, she felt tears well up.

"Just so long as he didn't teach you how to make that chocolate omelet thing." Kate made a face which had Alexis laughing which was just what she needed.

"That or his chocolate Chimichanga. I definitely didn't inherit my dad's taste buds. Or his desire to experiment with food," Alexis admitted with a grin.

"Good, at least none of us will die from food poisoning," Kate mentioned which caused both of them to laugh a little.

"HEY, those two creations were the greatest things ever!" **Bark, Bark, Bark.**

"Oh do shut up. You eat dog food so what do you know?" Kate grouched as she pulled out some slices of pork steaks and tried to think of what to go with them.

"Any mushrooms?" Kate asked and watched Alexis take some from the refrigerator. "You cut those up into slices and we can have Pork Steak Marsala. We've got bread and some cauliflower. I'll handle the pork while you can fix everything else," Kate said.

"Salad?" Alexis queried.

"Up to you. I wonder where Martha is?" She needed to know if she was cooking for two or three.

"Charlie, go find Grams." Alexis looked down at Charlie and smiled as she watched him run over to the stairs only to stop for a moment then go up one step at a time. "I don't think he likes the stairs."

"Probably a little intimidating from his point of view," Kate offered and gathered what she was going to need.

Alexis was busy slicing then getting the steamer ready for the cauliflower. "Kate?" She had a question or two.

"Hmm?" Kate replied absently.

"Do you think Dad died in pain?" Alexis stopped and just stared at nothing.

"The truth? He probably saw it coming. Did it actually hurt? Maybe for one whole second. According to Perlmutter he died instantly. The container the movers were lifting was more than heavy enough," Kate said to her. Some of which Alexis already knew.

"Why did you choose not to sue?" Alexis questioned since yes, it was an accident but it wasn't totally.

"Sue who? The movers weren't totally at fault. Their method was used all over the city and their ropes were fine. Okay, their method of choice to block that section of the sidewalk was weak. Do we sue the drunk driver that hit their equipment? He was decapitated in that accident. Do I ruin his family because he killed Castle?" Kate couldn't see herself ruining someone else's family. Castle was dead and ruining them wasn't going to change that.

"I'm still really sorry." _Whimper, whine. _He'd walked into the area and hadn't paid that much attention.

They both looked down and saw Charlie laying on the floor, looking up at them.

"Charlie's really good at that," Alexis commented and listened to Kate hum her agreement. "So no Grams?"

"Just us." _Bark._

"Here's your mushrooms. I'm going to feed Charlie and refill his water." Alexis moved to the refrigerator so she could slice off some of his food and put it in his bowl. Followed by dumping his water and giving him fresh. However, after that she just stood there and fought back the tears.

"What's wrong?" Kate slipped her arms around her from behind. That was when Kate heard her sniffling. She was crying yet again and if she didn't stop she was going to get her starting. Then both of them looked down.

"I'm really sorry!" _Howl. _Rick howled as long as his little lungs would allow.

Alexis wiped away her tears, picked him up, and got her face cleaned for it.

Just then they both watched as Kate ran toward her bedroom with her hand over her mouth. "Morning sickness." Alexis put Charlie down and hurried upstairs to get to her laptop in her room. She needed to look something up.

Alexis was soon back downstairs and didn't see Kate or Charlie but now she had a plan. She got out saltines for Kate to eat in the morning, put away the cauliflower and switched that to cheese. Then she put away the mushrooms and replaced them with tomatoes.

Now she had her own recipe and got started.

Kate was soon back. "Sorry, my stomach doesn't know what's it's doing lately." She was just glad her day at work hadn't included rushing to the women's restroom even once.

"Morning sickness. Here drink this. It's apple juice. It's supposed to be good for pregnant women with morning sickness. And these, take these to bed with you. Snacking on saltines is also supposed to be good for you.

"I got rid of your mushrooms and changed them out to tomatoes and changed the cauliflower to cheese. All those are supposed to help, too," Alexis smiled.

"And just when did you get so smart?" Kate hugged her quickly and took the crackers and the cheese and let Alexis cook since her stomach was still in full blown revolt. She sat down at the breakfast counter and watched her.

"Your father really did teach you." Kate saw that Alexis knew what she was doing.

"Taught her everything I know." _Bark, bark._

ooOoo

Alexis actually expected to see Charlie come through her door and struggle a little to get on her bed. However, this time she was ready for him and helped him up. She finally went to sleep with her puppy close.

During the night, though, Rick found himself back downstairs peeing on his puppy pee pads. He hated the idea of it but apparently his bladder control just wasn't that good. It did give him an excuse to go into his bedroom and see if Kate was awake so she could lift him up onto their bed.

She wasn't. Then he saw his Christmas present was now on the dresser instead of being hidden in the closet. Since it was clearly out of reach it meant she wouldn't be opening it early like he had hoped.

He whined quietly then walked around the bed a couple of times trying to figure out how to get up on it. He came up empty and chose the floor to lay down on and wait for Kate to wake up.

ooOoo

After being walked outside by his daughter, he now had his front paws on the dash of Kate's cruiser as she drove them into work. He was watching where they were going while wagging his tail.

Rick found himself being put in his chair. "You know the rules, Charlie. You let me know when you need to go outside and no barking. Got it?" Kate pointed her finger at him and hurried into the breakroom to get her one and only cup of coffee for the day.

Rick immediately jumped down, went over to Esposito, and sat there looking up at him. "Back for more, are you? Go bug Ryan, he's a sucker for puppies," Espo told him.

"What?" Espo looked down and saw that Charlie hadn't moved an inch.

Rick's only problem was that Gates was in her office and if he barked she would yell. Granted he was betting that his eyes would keep him from getting thrown out. But she might forbid Kate to bring him into the precinct. So he just sat there and looked up at him with his irresistible eyes.

Except Espo got a phone call so Rick decided on plan B. He walked into Gates's office, sat down, and looked up at her, even if he couldn't see her.

"Time for another lesson involving my eyes." _Bark, bark, bark._

"You again." Gates stopped what she was doing but just sat there until she heard him moving around her desk and found him sitting next to her, looking up at her with those eyes of his.

What she wanted to say was that his eyes didn't work on her. But they were. Gates caved in. "I suppose if I can put up with Castle, I can put up with you."

Rick was thinking he should bark his victory, however, he was on to her. She wanted him to bark so she would have a reason to kick him out. So he just kept looking at her.

"Beckett!?" Gates yelled. Kate arrived and Gates leaned down to pick Charlie up and hand him over.

"Sorry, sir." Kate took him and held him, waiting for Gates to erupt and kick them both out.

"He can stay, just make sure he doesn't make a mess of my floors and try and keep the barking down," Gates said.

"I told you she couldn't resist my eyes." _Bark, bark._

"Yes, sir." Kate retreated to her desk and put him back in his chair. "I don't know how you did that, but that was impressive work." Kate was almost certain Gates was going to kick both of them to the curb this morning.

"I'm good!" _Bark. _"Sorry." _Whimper. _He had barked but hadn't meant to. This not barking when he had something to say was going to be a lot more difficult than he thought.

"Just follow the rules as best you can, Charlie." Kate sat down, turned on her computer, and sipped her coffee while she waited.

Their case was actually starting to get somewhere. Kate had taken Charlie outside so he could do his business. She'd fed him and gave him water and they were both just sitting there when suddenly Alexis showed up.

"Alexis. What time is it?" Kate looked at the clock. She'd lost track of time.

"I came to take Charlie to the vet." Alexis reminded her.

"VET!" _Whimper, whine._

"Let's go, Charlie." She didn't have much time if she wanted to get there on time.

"Here's his leash. Just take him home after you're done. You can start dinner if you like." Kate watched her leave.

With Charlie gone the chair was empty again and it was starting to get to her. The pain in her heart was raising its head and it was hard to ignore; she didn't even feel the tears. Not having him sitting there was really hurting.

"Detective?" Gates wasn't at her desk and she hadn't seen her.

Kate wiped her tears away with her hand. "Sir?"

"Go home, Detective. You and that puppy of yours can start fresh in the morning." Gates knew she was showing a weakness. But Beckett was clearly still hurting and with the puppy gone she was falling apart.

"Sir…" Kate was ready to argue she was fine and would stay.

"Just go, Beckett. That's an order." Gates sighed and went back to her office.

"Yes, sir." Kate sat there for a time before shutting down her computer, gathering her stuff, and going home. "See you guys tomorrow."

ooOoo

Kate unlocked the door and entered her home. Then she made sure to close and lock the door. She was just starting to drop her stuff at the front door, save for her weapon, when she heard nails on the hardwood floors.

Looking down she saw Charlie racing her way and was kneeling down just in time for him to slide into her arms. Just picking him up and standing up brightened her day. She wasn't stupid, she knew Charlie was already in her heart.

"What did the vet say?" Kate carried Charlie over to Alexis who was in the kitchen slicing something before quickly retreating before her stomach put up a fight.

Alexis filled her in. "He's perfectly healthy, he doesn't have a chip, and she wants him back in two weeks since she didn't want to give him a shot too soon. So we wait."

"NO SHOTS!" **Bark, bark. **Rick was really happy about that. He still got poked and prodded, had his legs bent and twisted, and she must have felt him up pretty good.

"You don't want to help cook?" Alexis asked her and watched her retreat to the living room where she sat down.

"Food upsets my stomach," Kate grimaced. Morning sickness was quite annoying but at least it wasn't all day sickness.

Alexis moved to the refrigerator to retrieve something. "Try these." She put something on the counter which had Kate up to find out what.

"Cheese sticks?" Lucky for her she did like cheese.

"Cheese is supposedly good for your stomach and helps with morning sickness," Alexis said.

"And I made you a Found Puppy sign to put down in the garage." Alexis pointed at what was on the counter.

"Just the one, Alexis?" Yes, she loved Charlie and was willing to admit it but she still wasn't stealing someone else's puppy. Kate took a bite of her cheese stick.

"One's enough, Kate." Alexis moved her sliced whatever it was over to the range top.

Kate noticed that she was petting Charlie and bent her head down to kiss him. She wanted to argue with her, she really did. However, she also knew that giving up Charlie now was going to hurt and her heart hurt enough already. He wasn't even after her cheese stick.

"Fine." Kate gave in easily. She put Charlie down, picked up the sign and went looking for the tape, then went down to the garage. By the time she was back Martha was home and Alexis was done making dinner for the three of them.

"How's your Christmas shopping going?" Alexis asked both of them. Not that she was done or had really started. She did at least have some ideas what to get.

"I haven't even really thought about it." Kate knew she was in so much trouble. She had no idea what to get either of them or her dad.

"I've got one. I'm still working on the other one," Martha offered.

"What about my present?" _Bark, bark. _He could still rip the paper off like he always did. He was just going to have to use his teeth instead of his hands.

"I'll buy you one, too, Charlie," Alexis promised. She didn't know what, but she would get him something.

ooOoo

Kate was helping to clean up since that didn't affect her sensitive stomach any, or at least so far it wasn't. "So what are your plans for the condo? You know Hawaii has a college, too."

"I haven't given much thought about it. Stanford rejected me and I chose something local mostly for Dad. I just don't really know what I want to do. I kept trying to learn all I could about everything. Maybe that's why Stanford rejected me. I know a little about a lot but I'm not a master of anything. I didn't know then and don't know now what I want my master to be." Alexis knew she had a problem but didn't know what to do about it.

"Well, find out what the University of Hawaii offers and excels in, decide if that's for you, and how far away the condo is. Maybe a few topless surfers will pique your interest." Kate was all smiles.

"KATE!" Was she really suggesting sex? "Maybe, I still don't know why Dad bought it."

"Maybe Castle knew something that we don't. He did love you a lot," Kate said quietly.

"I love both of you a lot!" **Bark, bark.**

"I think that's my cue." Alexis got Charlie's leash, grabbed a sandwich bag, her ID, and keys, and took him outside.

"You think she was listening, Martha?" Kate questioned her since she had remained silent for almost the entire meal.

"I think she's afraid. If she leaves New York City now she'll be abandoning her father and his dream for her. Just as much as she loves the house in the Hamptons, she loves school even more. Hawaii might be good for her. But be ready to hear that she's homesick if she does this," Martha warned her.

"Homesick." Yeah, Kate could see that. "I'm going to have to push, aren't I? She'll just keep doing what she's doing because she lost her father."

"Not everyone has your lack of fear, Katherine. Your mother was murdered and you did something about it. Richard wasn't murdered so she's just lost," Martha advised her.

"I need a laptop and that address for the condo. I'll let you finish cleaning up, Martha, since this was your idea." Kate left her and went into the study and booted up Castle's laptop.

"I need to learn when to keep my mouth shut," Martha murmured to herself but did finish cleaning up.

ooOoo

Kate easily found that the condo was about four miles from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Now she just needed to figure out what was available at the University.

First she printed out the map to show Alexis. Then she checked out the University. "Oh hell, they have sixty-one different things that she could get her PhD in with some of them being eight years instead of six. I'm not sure I'm helping here. Let's see if I can break this down a little."

Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology

Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology

Cell and Molecular Biology

Botany

Marine Biology

Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering

Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences

Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences

"Mostly they seem to be into Education. I'm not sure I've ever heard of her expressing an interest in being a teacher. Some of this might be good if she was interested in being an ME for a large city or state. She seemed to like following Lanie around and she cares." Kate remembered that day that Alexis had worked really hard at finding out who that book of pictures belonged to.

Kate came out with her list and realized Martha was missing and so were Alexis and Charlie. So up the stairs she went and found Alexis sitting up in bed with Charlie in her lap. Kate knocked. "Can I come in?" If Alexis was busy she could come back later.

"I'm actually done, besides I need to put this away before Charlie decides to try his typing skills again." Alexis closed her laptop and put it on her night stand.

Kate grinned. "Charlie did that to my computer at work. It was gibberish."

"You try typing with big paws!" _Bark, bark. _He still needed a new plan. Maybe if he could get a pen or pencil between his teeth.

"I got to thinking about the condo and the University of Hawaii." Kate handed her the printout of the map. "I found the University is about four miles from the condo."

Alexis looked puzzled. "Doesn't sound like Dad. He didn't even like the idea of Stanford or Oxford. I know he wanted me close even if I didn't mind being that far away."

Well that helped Kate since she was thinking maybe homesick wasn't a problem. "I found this in the University that was really close." Kate handed over her last sheet. "Mostly they were into Education but they had sixty-one different Doctorate courses that you could get your PhD in. You liked what Lanie was doing so I thought maybe some of these would interest you."

Alexis went down the list and while some she wasn't interested in, a few actually did get her attention.

"The next school year starts in August so you have plenty of time to think about it. You'll have your own space to live in and knowing Castle, the condo has to be nice. You could get a scooter instead of a car," Kate suggested.

Alexis started to chuckle. "I actually tried to get Dad to buy me a scooter once. I even sold my lightsabers so I could buy one but didn't do it. It just wasn't right," Alexis admitted. Then she smiled at Kate. "I'll think about it. I promise."

"I just want what's best for you, pumpkin." _Bark, bark, bark._

"I was wondering if we had time to go see it over New Year's. Get out of cold New York City. There's just one problem with that idea. Dogs have to be quarantined for a month first. We can do it here if we choose a vet that's on their approved list or we have to do it there.

"Charlie can go, but it won't be easy on him." Alexis petted him; she was going to miss him if they went.

"Is the condo pet friendly?" Kate questioned her, not remembering that they had a dog park.

"They have a dog park so, yes. I suppose I could take Charlie with me if I went," Alexis said thoughtfully as she considered it.

"It's up to you, Alexis. I'm just trying to help." Kate got up and began to leave.

"Thanks, Kate. I appreciate it a lot." She needed someone to help her. She felt so lost at the moment.


	8. Chapter 8

**Charlie III**

_Chapter 8_

_It is now 4 months later_

Kate motioned for Charlie to get in her car so they could both go into work. Charlie was seven months old now and for the most part full grown. He might gain a little more weight, but he wasn't really going to get any bigger. He still somehow managed to give everyone his puppy dog eyes even if he wasn't small enough to have puppy dog eyes. Kate had to admit, however, that he was a handsome dog.

Charlie sat in the passenger seat and as usual he watched everything as she drove into the precinct. Gates didn't even say anything anymore and Charlie had gotten a lot better at not barking. Which was a good thing because his bark was a lot louder now that he was older.

Kate was smiling as she drove. Her mind took her to the day she had come home from the doctor's office with pictures from her ultrasound. She wasn't just having a baby, she was having twins! Either they were a little too young or both of them were hiding so she still didn't know the sex but she had another appointment in a couple of hours and maybe they would all know by then.

Alexis had shown Charlie her picture. "Twins, Charlie!" Alexis had recovered pretty well from losing her father so she was happy again. Now they watched as Charlie spun in a tight circle so fast they were sure he was going to make himself sick. All he did was bark until finally after what felt like minutes but actually wasn't, he stopped.

"**TWINS!**"** Bark! **Alexis might be happy again but Rick was over the moon. He vowed right then and there to protect all of them with his life if he had to. Their lives meant far more to him than his own.

By now everyone was starting to have suspicions as to just what was going on. Charlie always seemed to answer them whenever anyone said something. It was just that he was a dog and they were thinking he was just playing off of their emotions.

Naturally the poster about a found puppy was long gone and he was now officially their dog. Rick had also found that now that he was bigger there wasn't a bed too tall for him any longer.

He always started out in Alexis's bed until she went to sleep and he needed to pee so down to the puppy pee pads he went if he actually needed to. His ability to control his bladder was improving. It mostly depended on just when someone took him outside before going to bed.

Then when Kate woke up she always found Charlie in her bed. On his side of the bed. Or more accurately Castle's side of the bed. Since he hadn't pushed her off the bed during the night she let him keep doing it. However, she drew the line when she went into the bathroom. The door always got closed on him or he was thrown out if she found him already in there.

"Okay, Charlie, you know where we're going." Kate held the door open for him and watched him not race for the elevator but actually walk right next to her, always watching everywhere as they walked.

Once they were on the fourth floor, though, he always raced to his chair and jumped up and spun until he found a way to sit in it. It looked uncomfortable to Kate, but if that was where he wanted to sit she would let him.

Kate made a side trip to the breakroom to put his food away and get him a bowl of water, placing it next to her desk for him.

It actually felt pretty good to have him sitting in his chair, Kate realized as she sat down and turned on her computer. They just had to solve their case and she could take a couple of days off and enjoy them. It was April and it was starting to warm up so going to the Hamptons was now an option.

Kate began reading what had been sent to her between when she left last night and this morning with a hand on her now obvious baby bump. She still couldn't believe she was having twins. She didn't remember her mother saying anything about twins in her family and while her dad was happy to be a grandfather, his family wasn't prone to twins, either. Talking with Martha had also come up empty, at least on her side. Since Castle's father was still a bit of a mystery they didn't know about his.

"Where are we, Espo?" Kate asked since they had few leads.

"The plan is to go out and bring in his sister so we can talk to her today," Ryan responded.

"Take some uniforms with you. There's something about her that I can't quite place. I'm not sure I trust her," Kate said.

"Women's intuition?" Espo teased her, thinking it was because she was pregnant.

"More the void in her background that we can't find that has me worried about her. Just be careful," Kate cautioned. "There's something there."

ooOoo

Kate watched him and Ryan leave after making sure they were going to go with two cruisers and four uniforms with them.

She groaned a little as she stood up to look at her white board.

That had Rick getting down and stretching his muscles since sitting in his chair wasn't the easiest thing to do thanks to his new size. "What are you thinking, Kate?" _Woof, woof. _Rick had learned to bark softly when he wanted to say something.

"There's something about her that I can't put my finger on. Where did she go during this time?" Kate tapped the space on her board. "What am I missing?" Kate went back to her desk and logged onto her computer to do a search.

It was there that she found something but to get what she wanted she needed a search warrant and would have to have someone deliver it for her since she had chained herself to her desk.

Kate called Karpowski over and explained what she wanted and why. "See if you can get this signed," Kate asked. "Espo and Ryan are bringing her in and I'd like to have it before they get here." Roz nodded and hurried off.

Kate found Charlie's head in her lap which was something he'd learned he could do now. As was typical for her now she petted his head. "Castle would say _I have a bad feeling about this._ I just wish I knew what I was feeling bad about," Kate said frustratedly and looked down at him.

He really was an amazing dog. Alexis and maybe even she was alive again and she could place part of that squarely on Charlie. She still didn't know how he did it, but he had a knack for being in the right place at the right time.

Kate was sure her twins had something to do with it but for Alexis she could place it all on Charlie. Alexis, she was sure, had wrapped what was left of her heart around this one dog and had gotten so much back in return.

Kate was still petting Charlie when her computer gave her an alert. She left Charlie to look at her screen. Opening it she started reading. The more she read the less she liked what she was reading.

"I know this company. Where have I heard this company before?" Kate had to keep digging. "Here you are." She kept reading and heard the elevator ding and the doors open.

Taking a peek she saw Ryan, Esposito with Scarlet between them and two uniformed officers right behind them.

Her other eye spotted a word on her screen. "Wichita!" However, she'd said that word a little too loud. A lot happened right after that.

Ryan and Espo took a fist to one ear followed by Scarlet using those same fists and ramming them into the noses of the uniforms behind her.

Scarlet moved faster than Kate thought possible and it was by pure luck that one officer was right-handed and the other left-handed. Combined they had their weapons facing each other with Scarlet between them. In an instant that defied belief she had both weapons out of the officers' holsters even though both of them had their weapons strapped into place.

She'd already shot both officers with one round each before Kate could even open her drawer to pull out her weapon to fire back.

Scarlet's luck suddenly changed when both officers, while falling to the floor, reached out and hit both of her arms, forcing her arms down. But it wasn't all bad for Scarlet. She pulled the trigger on each weapon and sent a round into Espo's right leg and one round into Ryan's left leg.

Now Scarlet was free and without really aiming at anyone she started blasting away into the room to hit anyone that was stupid enough to be between her and the far wall.

Gates' glass walls took two rounds and shattered. Kate finally had her weapon, however, while doing this her chair moved and she fell out of it onto her ass. Which later they would find saved her life. The first few shots actually went over her head and missed her.

Kate raised her weapon and fired and Scarlet soon learned that Kate was a good shot. While she was firing so was Scarlet and over all the noise Kate heard Charlie whimper but she was too busy to look at him. Scarlet was still standing and firing her weapons until finally she fell to the floor dead.

Now that it looked to be over Kate saw Scarlet on the ground along with Espo, Ryan, and the two uniformed officers. Then she saw Charlie lying on his side and there was a pool of blood forming around him. "**OH, GOD!**"Kate literally dropped her weapon and crawled over to Charlie who she could see was still alive and awake. "**Charlie, No! Please God, No!**" Kate could only pet him and search for where the blood was coming from so she could stop it.

"I had to Kate, she was going to shoot you. I'm so sorry." _"Whimper, whimper, whine. _He had to save her and his unborn babies. He wasn't that sorry.

"_CHARLIE, NO! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!" _She could only hold him and watch him close his eyes. "NO! PLEASE GOD, NO!" Kate was now crying, bordering on openly sobbing. "Charlie, please?" She was watching him die and it was killing her. Finally her heart couldn't take it and she just sat there and sobbed loudly. Ignoring the blood, she lifted his now lifeless body up into her lap so she could hold him.

The precinct's janitorial staff was left to clean up the mess and at first watched Kate sobbing with a bloody and dead dog in her lap. She ignored everyone and didn't move when pulled.

Finally someone tried to take Charlie from her. "**NO! LEAVE HIM ALONE!**"Kate yelled at whoever it was and continued sobbing her heart out as her tears fell onto Charlie's fur.

ooOoo

Kate barely registered that she was being walked somewhere, then put in a cruiser, and driven away. She was so zoned out that nothing really reached her.

Alexis and Martha were home given that it wasn't a school day and Martha didn't have to do anything for her play today. Someone knocked on the door and Alexis got up to answer it. Stunned, she saw Kate being held up by two police women in uniforms and she also recognized Captain Gates. "What happened?" Kate didn't look like she was even awake save that her eyes were open.

"Bedroom?" Gates asked. Alexis pointed and the uniformed police women escorted Kate that way. Leaving just Alexis and Gates.

"There was an incident at the precinct today. Four officers were shot and the suspect was killed. Based on preliminary reports it looks like Detective Beckett killed our suspect during the incident," Gates told her.

Alexis got all that but was sure Kate had killed someone before now. All in the line of duty of course. So why would she look and act like this?

Gates took a deep breath. "There was one other fatality in the precinct." She hated to do this. Even she really liked Charlie. He'd somehow wormed his way into the hearts of nearly everyone in the precinct. Gates wasn't entirely sure how he got around the precinct, but he did. Kate was taking it the hardest but everyone else was affected as well. "Charlie was killed during the incident. We're still investigating but it looks like he got in the way of a round that might have been meant for Detective Beckett." Gates barely managed to get all that out.

"**WHAT!**"Alexis had stopped listening at the part about Charlie being killed. "Charlie?" Alexis looked past Gates trying to find Charlie. "CHARLIE!" He had to be here, he just had to be! She didn't know what she was going to do without him.

"NO!" Alexis ripped her arm out of Gate's grasp. "NO!" There was only one safe place left for her. Gates watched as she raced up the stairs and slammed her door closed behind her.

Gates was left standing there, alone inside a large, very nice apartment. She knew Castle was rich and since she had married him, so too was Kate. Now she knew how Kate was living and she was envious. Just not jealous given all the pain this family had been and still was going through.

The two women officers eventually joined her; they talked for a bit then those two left. Just as they did Gates saw Martha at the top of the stairs.

ooOoo

Martha, she noticed, took the news a bit better than Kate or Alexis. "I'll send Dr. Parrish over as soon as I can arrange it. When you get a chance tell Detective Beckett that she's on paid medical leave for at least four weeks. I am sincerely sorry," Gates said to Martha and let herself out. She wasn't sure yet just what she was going to do. She was down three homicide detectives and two uniformed officers and Internal Affairs was already all over her precinct.

That woman had gotten her hands on two weapons somehow and now she had wounded officers and one dead dog. A furious Captain Gates strode to the elevator and back to her precinct that was now severely understaffed.

ooOoo

Rick looked around and found himself in a nice, large, comfortable seat inside a train car. "Not again!" He leaned back and tried to figure out what he'd done wrong this time.

Just like last time there was a woman across from him with women on one side and men on the other. Then he watched as a worker came through the door and handed out menu cards, just like before.

ooOoo

This time Rick wasn't hungry. He was just angry so he settled for a glass of ice water for this trip.

He didn't even need that guy to tell him what doors to go through after he exited the train. Once again he stepped into a theater that had screens on the wall all the way around him.

At least he didn't get Jack the Ripper again which he took as a good sign. "What happened?"

Instead of answering his question the man used his pad and filled the room with pictures of his past. "A very colorful life, Mr. Rodgers. Or do you prefer Castle?" he started off with.

"Castle, please, or simply Rick. How did I end up here again?" Rick questioned him.

"I see you have been with us before. Interesting." Then suddenly Rick saw pictures of a dead red Irish Setter with blood everywhere and an in pain Kate sobbing over the dead body of the dog.

"OH SHIT!" He was the dog and he was dead again. This was getting really old fast. "What happened?" His memory was a little foggy, much like last time.

"It seems you sacrificed yourself to prevent a Katherine Beckett from being shot while pregnant. Interesting." He just kept using that word.

"And you are?" Rick would love to have a name just like last time.

"Albert Fish," he informed him, not that he expected him to recognize that name. No one did.

"Albert Fish." Rick searched his memory and dragged it out from a dark place in a far corner. "You killed three children in the early 1900s. Though you claimed to have killed over a hundred. At least one from each state. You even sent a letter that you had carved one of them up and eaten her."

Why in the name of God did he get all the homicidal serial killer wackos to go over his life history and decide his fate? What had he done that was so damn wrong to deserve this?

"She was indeed tasty," Albert recalled. "This way, Mr. Castle." He walked to a door, opened it, and waited for Rick to join him.

Rick recognized it immediately. "The same tree as last time."

"Indeed. All of the cards have been jumbled since your last visit with us. Simply pick a card and you can get on with your life," Albert informed him.

It didn't matter, Rick didn't really know where the card he had chosen last time was even located. "The Universe will provide." He remembered it had worked last time. He groaned, closed his eyes, and pointed.

ooOoo

The meal out was delicious last time and turned out to be the very different this time. He had a choice of Filet Mignon or Lamb Shanks. Sides were equally good and it came with coffee and Scotch after his meal. The very same bottle of Scotch as far as he could tell.

Rick was sipping his Scotch after eating a very delicious meal of Lamb Shanks and decided he should read his card before they arrived soon.

"So what is it this time?" Rick fiddled with the envelope that held his card but didn't open it.

That was when he heard two of the others. "**EARTH WORM!?** I'm a goddamn Earth Worm?"

He could even hear the guy from last time speaking as he passed him. "Never take his name in vain."

"I'm a horse!" She didn't sound upset or even all that surprised. She was simply stating it. Okay, maybe she was surprised a little, Rick was guessing.

He might as well get this over with. He set his drink down and would chug it depending on what he read on his card. Opening the envelope he saw the card was face down yet again. He closed his eyes and turned it over. Then he took a quick peek before opening them wide in shock.

_**3 Month Old Male Golden Retriever**_

He was a puppy again!


	9. Chapter 9

**Charlie III**

_Chapter 9_

Behind one closed door bedroom door Martha could hear her granddaughter sobbing uncontrollably and through an open bedroom door she could hear Kate doing the same thing. And what she wanted to do was go up to her room and cry uncontrollably herself. She didn't know just how much more this family could take.

Having Katherine as part of their family had been a godsend. She would admit that maybe before she and her son got married she had questioned if Kate was really worth it. But they were all past that point now.

Martha decided to start with Alexis, even if she wasn't really sure just what she was going to be able to say or do that would ease her pain. However, she needed to try. Knocking first, she heard, "**GO AWAY!**"followed by more crying. Naturally she ignored that order and opened the door though she couldn't even see her. The large bump in the bed gave her a clue.

Sitting on the bed Martha began with her name and touched the large bump in the bed. "Alexis, dear?" What she got wasn't what she expected. Instead of being yelled at to go away again, Alexis somehow erupted out from under her covers and wrapped herself around her. She was still crying heavily but at least now Martha was able to hold her. She couldn't really think of anything else to do but be there for her and let her cry onto her.

Martha was still holding her and letting Alexis cry when suddenly the bed shifted a little. She opened her eyes to see Kate was on the bed, putting her arms around Alexis and herself. The fact that she was up here at all made Martha smile. Maybe the three of them could put each other back together again.

ooOoo

Rick had stepped out of the train and found himself in… "Central Park?" _Bark._

Okay, he could make this work. At least he was closer this time since it looked like he was on the very southern end of the park. Running flat out had tired him out pretty fast last time so this time he more trotted than ran.

He stopped and sat down at each and every red light, still amazed at just how many people ignored him. Oh, a few did notice him but even then it was a mix between older people and little children. Even so none of them tried to stop him.

Eventually he was across the street and looking at the entrance to the building. As usual the doorman was there. It left him with three options that he could think of. One was to wait for someone to come out or go in then try and rush through the door, hoping not to get stopped. Two, do what he did last time, or three, maybe the doorman would take pity on him and open the door.

He was going to need to make a decision soon since he just felt the first drop of rain. He needed shelter or he was going to get soaked.

Rick chose option three. He raced across the street and slid to a stop at the door under the awning that protected people from the weather. He looked up at the doorman who was outside under the awning instead of inside like he normally was during the cold months of winter. "Give me a break, please?" _Bark, bark._ _I'd give you 20 bucks or even 50 if I had either if you would just open the door._ "I'm a friend of Charlie." _Bark, bark. _Rick knew everyone knew Charlie. He had made certain of that.

Amazed, he watched as the doorman opened the door, stepped inside, and held it open just long enough for him to dart inside just as the clouds opened up and it poured. "Thanks!" _Bark._

Now he just had to get up to the top floor and as he expected the stupid buttons were too damn high off the floor for him.

"They just had to make me a puppy again, didn't they? Couldn't make me an adult dog that could reach the stupid buttons." _Whimper, whimper, whine, whine. _"No, I had to be a puppy again. We don't even have puppy food any longer." _Whimper, whimper, whimper. _Rick lay down on the floor and looked up at the stupid buttons.

Then suddenly a hand was pressing the up button and the elevator doors opened. Rick was up in a flash and bounded into the elevator, thankful that it was empty or he would have crashed into someone.

Rick turned and saw the doorman who stepped in long enough to press the button for his floor. "Thanks! I owe you!" **Bark, bark. **His bark sounded different this time and once again it sounded more like woof, woof than bark bark, but if it got the job done he wasn't going to complain. "Wait, I have puppy dog eyes again. WOO HOO!" _Bark, bark, bark._

Once the elevator door opened he ran down the hallway to the door to home. Now he just needed to get someone inside the open the door and let him in. If there was anyone home, that was. There was only one way in so he began barking his head off.

ooOoo

Martha was actually the only one who heard anything. Kate and Alexis were busy trying to prop each other up and gain some strength from the other to even start to survive this.

It sounded like a dog barking. She, like the others, had gotten used to hearing Charlie barking but this sounded muffled and softer somehow.

It was more trial and error until she worked out in a minute that it was coming from the front door. It was just that it didn't make any sense. Captain Gates had said that Charlie had died. Katherine was certainly broken like it was true and yet there was that bark.

Opening the door she had just enough time to see something blonde come rushing into the loft. Turning to look she saw it was a dog. A puppy, to be precise, only this one was different. Charlie had been red and this one was more blonde in color.

Martha looked out into the hallway. Except she didn't see anyone. She turned back around and didn't immediately see the puppy until motion had her looking at the stairs. It was taking the stairs one step at a time on the way up. Martha closed and locked the door then went upstairs to find out just what was going on.

Rick knew right where the bed was and at the moment wasn't concerned if anyone was in it or not. He was getting on that bed. Bursting into the room he finally recognized the sounds he'd been hearing since he entered the loft. Kate and Alexis were holding onto each other and crying. Rick jumped and almost screwed it up. He had to really scramble to get all of him on the bed then into Alexis's lap where he licked her face. The result was instantaneous. Alexis was still crying but she pushed him far enough away that he couldn't keep licking her.

Kate had noticed and reached out her hand to touch him while Alexis was still holding him. "It's me! It's really me!" _Bark, bark, bark! _Kate wiped away tears with one hand while now petting the puppy.

Alexis was still crying but was calming down quickly and was petting the puppy. But this was a puppy and it wasn't Charlie. It wasn't making any sense to her or Kate.

Kate noticed Martha enter the room and looked up at her for an explanation. Martha told them what little she knew. "It was outside the door barking. I opened the door and it raced straight up here. Nowhere else, just straight here. There was no one else out there, just him."

Kate was sure if her heart got any more broken it would actually stop beating. At the moment she would take anything that even hinted at being able to piece it back together for her. She reached out to pet the puppy that was in Alexis's lap and simply looking up at them with those eyes of his.

ooOoo

It felt like an hour later and maybe it was. All three of them were still on Alexis's bed while Alexis clutched the puppy that was in her lap. Kate and Martha were content to just get in a few strokes on his body.

Alexis needed something or someone. Anything to help her recover from the pain. It just hurt so damn much. First her dad then Charlie. She was still crying but at least having a puppy in her arms seemed to be helping.

Since Kate was looking better Martha chose to relay Captain Gates' message. "Captain Gates said you were on paid medical leave for four weeks." Since the puppy seemed to be doing what she couldn't Martha didn't try to do too much to help either of them.

Kate simply nodded. Rick's money meant she really didn't have to work at all. However, she liked her job so she would go back when she was ready.

"So what do we name him?" Kate asked since this time she was skipping the found puppy poster. They were broken yet again but if another puppy could piece them back together then Kate wasn't just handing him over to some other family. Not this time.

"Charlie," Alexis answered and held the puppy a little tighter.

Kate was thinking of arguing that they'd already had a Charlie and didn't need another one. Though as much as another Charlie might hurt, the name Charlie actually helped a little. Kate amended his name to, "Charlie the second," knowing it would be shortened to just Charlie.

The need to pee was the only thing that got Kate up and into the bathroom upstairs. Looking into the mirror as she washed her hands told her just how broken she really was this time. She looked like shit!

Kate took a deep breath. It wasn't actually there but she still saw Charlie's blood all over her from having pulled him into her lap. Just thinking about it had new tears forming and falling down her cheeks. Charlie was just a dog and she knew that. It wasn't like he was her husband or anything. Still the pain was just as intense. Someone had clearly cleaned her up and changed her clothes for her even if she didn't really remember it happening.

"Rick." Did he really have to die? Did her mother really have to die? Did Charlie have to die in her lap?

"Rick." Kate turned to look in the direction of Alexis's bedroom. It was stupid but she'd been around Rick long enough to almost start thinking like him. It made no sense and was impossible. Still a piece of her heart had her head thinking. Her head was rejecting it but her heart had her walking back into Alexis's bedroom where she found Alexis still sitting up in bed clutching the new puppy tightly. Her tears were still flowing but at least she wasn't sobbing any longer.

Martha had spotted her and saw something on her face. "Katherine?" Martha was part concerned and part curious.

"Rick?" Kate got his name out. She knew she still always called him Castle except for when she loved him the most. When being more intimate meant something. Then he was Rick to her.

"That's me!" _**Bark.**__Rick d__id__ his best to twist in his daughters arms to look at his wife who was standing in the doorway looking in._

"Come on, Kate, try." _Whimper, whimper._

That had Martha looking between Katherine and the puppy and back again. "Katherine?" Just what was she thinking?

Kate moved to the edge of the bed, got down on her knees, and looked straight at the puppy. "Rick?" It was ridiculous but she also knew Castle would gobble this up in an instant. The man who believed in Santa Claus, aliens and CIA conspiracies, ghosts, and demons wouldn't have any trouble with this.

"That's me!" _**Bark, bark! **_Rick tried to get out of his daughter's arms but all that accomplished was for her to hold onto him even tighter. What he wanted to do was move over to Kate so he could lick her face.

"Katherine, you're not actually thinking…" Martha was thinking that she was and shut up when Kate waved her hand at her.

"You're Rick?" Kate questioned, not sure why she was even thinking this. Maybe it was her broken into tiny pieces heart. The wish that her husband hadn't actually left her or maybe after all this she had finally lost her mind.

"Yes!" _**Bark!**_

"This is beyond crazy." Kate ran her hands down her face and though her hair. "Once for yes and twice for no. Got it?" Kate looked only at the puppy.

"Got it!" _**Bark!**_

"Oh, dear Lord!" Martha was following what Kate was thinking but this was really stretching what even she was willing to believe.

"Yes." _Bark. Rick knew God was involved in this somehow. Who else would give serial killers a second chance and have them review the lives of people that had died? Granted even he was having a little trouble but it all made sense to him._

"Oh, good Lord!" Martha placed both hands over her mouth. The puppy had actually answered her. Or so she believed.

Kate tried again. "You're Rick? As in Richard Castle the author?"

"Yes." _Bark. We've been over this already and it's about damn time you saw the light, Kate. I know you're stubborn but jeez, I mean really!?_

"How to prove it?" How to ask yes or no questions that only Castle could answer.

"My middle name is Rose." Kate began there since it was all she could think of at the moment.

"No!" _**Bark, Bark. **__Honestly, Kate. Your middle name. You couldn't think of something better to ask me?_

"This is creepy." Kate stood up and paced around the bedroom trying to think up yes or no questions to ask a puppy. "You're a puppy." That wasn't actually a question she was more talking to herself than the puppy.

"Yes." _Bark. I never even dreamed something like this could happen. Okay, maybe I did once. What I don't get is why I know everything. Why am I not just another __ordinary__ puppy living his life?_

Kate stopped pacing and stared at the puppy. She'd actually asked a question and it had actually answered her. "Do you own a piece of the moon?" Kate suddenly had lots of questions.

"Yes." _Bark. Pretty cool, huh? As I recall you own it now since I'm dead._

"Do you know now who abducted you at our wedding? The first wedding." Kate questioned him. Though even if he did know how was he going to tell her who? Definitely a stupid question.

"No." _Bark, bark. And I'm still angry at them for that._

"Katherine?" Martha was listening to all of this and it was still hard to believe.

"Did you hate Tom? Or Josh?" Maybe those weren't the best questions to verify that this was her dead husband. But she had a lot of questions now.

"Yes." _Bark. But I still forgive you. I made my own mistakes._

"Did I almost screw up everything with Eric Vaughn?" Kate had to admit that he had almost reached her but at the last second she had come to her senses and pushed him away.

"Yes!" **Bark! **_Had you kissed him we would have been over. I don't accept being cheated on._

"OH GOD!" Kate cupped her hands on her face. "This isn't possible."

"Dad?" Alexis had been listening and until now had been willing to just listen. Besides where Kate was going took a lot of imagination for it to be real.

"Yes." _Bark. It's me, pumpkin, and I didn't mean to get myself killed. …Either time._

Alexis lifted the puppy but kept it at arms length and looked at it. "You're Dad?"

"Yes." _Bark. Trust me this is really weird but it is me._

"Not a dog from outer space pretending to be my dad? So why can't you talk?" Alexis asked him.

"No." _Bark, bark. And if you mean that cat from outer space he had a collar that allowed him to do all that. And I am talking!_

"This is just weird." Alexis put the puppy down and tried to think while she wiped her tears away.

"I have to pee!" _Whimper, whimper. Since he was loose Rick jump__ed__ off the bed, __ran__ between Kate's legs, and out the door. He stop__ped__ to look down the stairs. "You couldn't put some puppy pee pads upstairs? These things are fucking dangerous, you know."_

Still Rick went down the stairs one step at a time. Kate, followed by Alexis, then Martha stopped at the top of the stairs, watching.

"Where's he going?" Alexis wondered since the door was closed and there wasn't really anything down there. "Thirsty, maybe?"

The three started down the stairs and watched as the puppy stopped at the puppy pee pads, stood there, and peed.

"Now this is really weird," Alexis stated as they reached the pads just about when the puppy finished.

"No bladder control again." _Whimper, whimper. _"This is so not cool." _Whimper._

"Katherine?" Martha questioned her since she had just watched the puppy leave them and head straight for the pee pads and use them. A normal puppy should have or would have just peed wherever because the had to pee. But not this puppy.

"Don't look at me, Martha. None of this makes any sense." Kate was still trying to get her head to believe what her heart was telling her.

"Dad." Alexis used her finger to get him to come to her and watched as the puppy did just that. "Sit!" Alexis watched as the puppy sat right in front of her.

Now Alexis had a really big question. An incredibly stupid and impossible question. "Were you Charlie? The Irish Setter?"

"Yes." _Bark. Pretty weird, huh?_

"I need a drink!" Martha announced and went to the refrigerator to see if there was an open bottle of wine.

"I'm thinking this calls for something a lot stronger, Martha." Kate went into the kitchen to find the bottle of vodka.

"So you died, came back as a dog then died again, and came back as another dog?" Alexis questioned him.

"Yes." _Bark. I could have come back as an Orca, a Horse or even an Earth Worm, you know. Actually being a dog isn't so bad. There are worse options out of 8.1 million or so possibilities._

"Vodka, lots of vodka," Kate muttered and poured both of them a glass.

"So you're really Dad?" Alexis inquired since this meant he hadn't actually left her. Or them. All right, he had, but he'd come back. But why a dog and not as a ghost?

"Yes." _Bark. _

Kate didn't bother with sipping; she chugged hers and refilled it. Then emptied it when she remembers that she is pregnant and shouldn't have really even drank the first one.

"So why a dog? You could have come back as a ghost or something," Alexis questioned him and watched as he just sat there staring up at her with those eyes of his.

"Yes or no questions only, pumpkin." Bark, bark, bark. "I wonder if they make laser tag vests for dogs." _Bark, bark. _"Except I can't hold the gun!" _Whimper, whimper, whine._


	10. Chapter 10

**Charlie III**

_Chapter 10_

All three of them had peppered him with questions until he was almost tired of answering them. Granted some of them weren't yes or no questions so he sat there and didn't say anything until they either asked a different question, gave up on that one, or maybe rephrased it into a yes or no question.

He had started out in Alexis's bedroom on her bed until she finally went to sleep. Then he'd jumped down off her bed, made his way down the stairs, and over to the puppy pee pads, just to make sure. Then he made his way to their bedroom.

Kate had left the door partially open and he slipped in easily. He had expected to find her in bed sleeping. Well, he was half right. She was in bed but she wasn't sleeping. She was sitting up against the headboard with all of the pillows behind her.

Rick moved around to her side of the bed and sat down. "Pick me up?" _Bark._

Kate was all wrapped up in her own mind and staring out into nothing. Not really paying any attention to anything. Then she heard a dog bark; she glanced down and saw the puppy just sitting there.

Kate was still trying to wrap her head around all of this, however, she leaned out over the bed, picked him up, and settled him on the bed next to her. "You're really you?" she questioned him. Things like this only happened in movies or TV shows like Twilight Zone or Outer Limits or only in books. It was or should be impossible. That case with the dead ghostbuster had proven that.

"Yes, it really is me." _Bark. And I'm still sorry._

"You realize this is supposed to be impossible." Kate just watched him lay there looking up at her with those eyes of his. "Enough with the puppy dog eyes already, Castle. It worked when I thought you were a real puppy. Not so much now."

That got Rick to sit up and look at her. She needed to ask him questions so he could talk to her.

"You just had to get yourself killed, didn't you. Do you have any idea how much that hurt? How much it hurt all of us? I was so afraid that Alexis might actually think about committing suicide." Kate was tired of hurting. Now she was angry since she had someone to be angry at for a change.

Rick lay back down and looked up at her. "Sorry." _Whimper. _Then suddenly he sat back up. "It's not like I was trying to get myself killed." _Bark, bark, bark._

"And just what did you think you were doing? You got yourself shot. How much heart do you think any of us have left? You died in my lap, Castle." Kate felt tears starting all over again and wiped them away before they got anywhere.

Kate watched him stand, walk across the bed, and place both front paws on her enlarged belly and look at her. Her twins, their twins, were growing inside her.

She reached out to pick him up and put him in her lap with part of him on her belly. Then she kept her hands on him. "By rights you should be dead. Not up walking around as a puppy. And why a puppy both times?" Kate asked him but he just lay there. She finally worked out that she hadn't asked him a question. But instead of asking him a question… "My husband is a dog." She tried to keep her poker face but was betting she was failing.

"Oh funny, Kate, very funny." _Bark, bark, bark._

"What are we going to do, Castle? I can't be married to a dog." Kate didn't know what to do next.

"I can still love you and protect you." _Bark, bark. _"All you have to do is take me back into the precinct." _Bark, bark. _"Gates will succumb to my puppy dog eyes." _Bark, bark._

"Did you see him? Did you see God?" Kate was curious. She couldn't help but ask.

"No." _Bark, bark. Just serial killers and a huge tree._

"So did you even have a choice? Besides coming back as a dog?"

That question gave Rick a little trouble. He hadn't had a choice in what to do, but he wasn't destined to come back as a puppy. Out of eight point one million choices more or less, he could have been something else.

"No." _Bark, bark. _He decided to keep his answer simple.

"Yet you remember who you are." Kate was still trying to come to grips with that, too. If everyone did this there had to be millions of dead people out there who remembered who they were in whatever animal form they were in now.

"Yes." _Bark. Just don't ask m__e __why since I have no idea._

"Yet each time you end up here instead of say Los Angeles or Kansas City. Or London for that matter." Kate waited for an answer until she realized she hadn't actually asked him a yes or no question again.

"So did you chose to be each dog? Irish Setter first and now a Labrador?"

"No." _Bark, bark._

Kate became aware that she was absentmindedly petting him but hadn't noticed until now. However, she didn't stop. It was actually helping her a little.

"This is really weird, Castle." Kate stated the obvious as she kept petting him.

"Yes, a little." _Bark._

"I can't keep calling you Castle, Castle. People are going to think I've lost my mind. Hell, I think I've lost my mind. I'm laying here talking to a dog." Kate rubbed both hands down her face.

"You do realize dogs don't have a long lifespan, don't you? Even if you live to old age you're going to live twelve years or so at best. The twins won't even be close to ready for college. Twins! I can't tell our children that their father's a dog!" Kate looked up at the ceiling since the guy that had done this was up there somewhere supposedly.

She sighed heavily. "It was sweet of you to come back, though." She lifted him up so she could kiss him and her face received a thorough licking. Kate put him back down in her lap.

"No one's going to believe this. I'm not sure I believe this." Kate returned to the original problem. "You're name is Charlie now, Castle. I'm not explaining to everyone that you're Castle. My husband."

"Okay." _Bark. __I can__ live with that._

ooOoo

_It is one week later_

Kate had been given four weeks off for medical leave though she only took one. Alexis herself only took two days off from her classes. Her semester was about done and she didn't want to fall behind or her grades might suffer.

It was Alexis's first day back to class and she was downstairs eating breakfast while watching Charlie or her dad as she'd been told and worked out for herself, sitting there watching her.

"Are you taking him back into the precinct with you?" Alexis asked Kate who was standing in the kitchen eating saltine crackers. So far most of Alexis's food alternatives seemed to be working. Just not all the time.

"Martha has her play and you have classes so I don't see an alternative. We just have to get past Gates again." Kate still wasn't so sure about that.

"Leave that to me, Kate. No one can resist these eyes." _Bark, bark, bark. _Rick then gave them both an idea of just what kind of power he could wield.

"I don't speak dog," Alexis told him.

"Perhaps not but I've seen that look before. I think he's planning on giving Gates a dose of his puppy dog eyes. Don't underestimate Gates, Castle, or we'll both be thrown out so fast you won't know what hit you. We may be thrown out if I don't take all four weeks anyway."

ooOoo

Alexis was gone and Kate was left sitting on the sectional with Charlie/Rick right next to her.

"How are we going to make this work, Castle?" Kate covered her face with her hands. "And I'm talking to a dog." She let her hands fall to the sofa. "And if you lick my face again I'm putting you on the floor," she warned him as he got up and started to come closer.

Rick decided to lay back down since he didn't want to be on the floor. "I'm still sorry." _Whimper. _It hadn't been his idea to get killed the first time. The second time, yes, just not the first.

"You're probably loving this, aren't you? You die and come back as a dog. Die again and come back as yet another dog. And if you say aliens are involved I'm leaving you here when I go into work."

All he could do was bark to yes and no questions and Kate hadn't actually asked him a question. But no, he wasn't loving this that much. "No." _Bark, bark. It's great in the movies. Not so much in real life. Besides it's really embarrassing to have serial killers reviewing your life's history and decid__ing__ what happens to you. Still not sure just how that works._

Hearing the doorbell Rick jumped off the sectional and raced to the door, barking loudly the entire way. As soon as he got there he still didn't know why he had done it. However, he was there now so he just kept on barking until Kate opened the door.

"Gina?" Kate wasn't really expecting to hear from her. Castle had officially died months ago and she hadn't said word one until now.

"GINA!?" _Growl, bark, bark, bark. _Even Rick knew she hadn't called or been by since he had died the first time let alone when he was a puppy, just not this puppy.

"You got a puppy." Gina couldn't help but notice since it was standing there growling and barking at her even now.

"Ca…Charlie SIT!" She had gotten used to calling him Castle and had almost done just that in front of Gina. Kate watched Castle sit and stop barking but he didn't stop growling at her.

Kate didn't step aside and let her in. "What can I help you with, Gina?"

"I came by to express my condolences for your loss. Richard was a good man," Gina said. Rick simply growled a little louder.

"That's kind of you. However, it would have been even more kind if you had actually shown up at his funeral. I still have all the cards from people that sent flowers," Kate informed her. Meaning she knew Gina hadn't sent any and she was letting Gina know this little fact.

"YOU DIDN'T SHOW UP AT MY FUNERAL!?" **BARK, BARK, BARK, BARK, BARK!** Rick only stopped when Kate told him to. But that didn't stop him from growling at her.

"I'll share you condolences with the others. It was nice of you to stop by, Gina." Kate closed the door in her face and locked it. "The nerve of that woman," Kate muttered to herself.

"The nerve of Gina!" _Bark, bark, bark. What did she really come here for?_

"And you kept her as your editor," Kate said to Castle as she walked to the kitchen with the intent of getting something to drink. However, once she was there she remembered she couldn't have coffee. She'd already had her one cup. She couldn't have wine either or anything harder at all.

"What did she want?" _Bark, bark._

"I have no idea, Castle." Kate opened the refrigerator to look for something. "Wait, what did you just say?" She looked down at him.

That had Rick trying to think. "What did she want?" _Bark, bark._

"Okay, I didn't understand that one. For a minute there I thought I knew what you'd just said. Now I know I'm losing my mind." Kate spotted the apple juice Alexis had gotten for her because of her morning sickness.

"And a very beautiful mind it is, too." _Bark, bark, bark._

"Flattery won't get you anywhere," Kate said to him as she poured herself a glass then stopped halfway and looked at him. "No!" It was impossible. She didn't speak dog and she couldn't actually read his mind no matter what Lanie kept saying or how in tune they could get during a case while coming up with a theory.

Kate only made it as far as the breakfast bar and sat down to drink her juice. Then a thought hit her. "Why did you buy a condo in Hawaii? It's only two bedrooms and not nearly as big as this place is. Do you have any idea how far by plane it is from New York City to Honolulu?" They were going to spend all day trying to reach it.

"Yes or no questions only." Kate shook her head before Rick could say anything.

ooOoo

The door had Kate's attention so she headed that way and looked first. "Lanie!?" Kate opened the door. "Lanie, what brings you by?" Kate was reasonably sure she should be at work.

"We caught a case but I was passing by on my way back to the lab so I thought I would stop and see how you're holding up. You lost Charlie and I wanted…" Lanie stopped when Rick ran over to her.

"Hi, Lanie!" _Bark._

"Another puppy?" Lanie couldn't believe it. She was betting Kate, Alexis, and probably Martha had to be hurting. To find that they had another puppy already was a surprise. This was so not like the Kate she knew.

Lanie knelt down to pet the puppy. "Looks like a Golden Labrador. It reminds me of that dog you and Castle tried sharing until it chose to live with someone else."

Kate suddenly remembered that day. "That's true, I hadn't really thought about that. Royal was a good dog."

"And what am I? Chopped liver?" _Bark, bark! Honestly! __T__rying to compare me to another dog. Though I did like __Royal__. __I s__till __can't figure out__ why he chose her over me._

"Did he just answer you?" Lanie asked since the timing was perfect.

Kate rolled her eyes. "I don't speak dog and neither do you. Martha's at her play and Alexis went into school today. I was thinking of going back in a couple of days," Kate told her since she was mostly fine. Even if what had she had just learned recently was stretching her beliefs pretty far.

"So soon? You sure you don't want a little more time off?" Lanie was still worried about her.

"So I can sit here and wallow in self pity? Doesn't really sound like me. I need something to keep my mind busy. It's just who I am, you know that." Though learning about Castle certainly helped. Except Kate still had questions. She just wasn't sure how she was going to get them using yes and no questions.

"I've learned that you're stubborn so I won't try and change your mind. And I have a dead body. Just be certain, girlfriend, that's all I ask." Lanie walked back to the door so she could go down to her car and work the case.

"I'm certain and I have a new partner." Kate smiled a little and looked at the puppy.

"Damn right you do!" _Bark, Bark, Bark! And I'm going to protect you just like the other times._

"So who's your dead body?" Kate was curious since it was her job. This case would likely be solved before she came back to the precinct.

"Anna Perez, a rising star in Hispanic television. Perlmutter was supposed to get this case but called in sick so now I'm doing double duty. He better be really sick or he's going to be sick." Lanie was supposed to have today off.

Kate smiled. When Lanie was angry someone was in big trouble. "I'm sure the boys can solve it."

"I need to get going. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I suppose I'll see you later." Lanie looked at the puppy again and walked over to the door. "Just be certain, Kate, that's all I ask." Lanie closed the door behind her.

ooOoo

The three of them had had time to adjust to finding out that Rick had been the Irish Setter puppy and was now a Golden Labrador puppy. Each of them spent the weekend peppering him with as many yes and no questions as they could.

Kate in particular asked him questions meant to trick him. To prove to herself and the others that the puppy wasn't just barking. One was kind of part question and part not and Rick had simply lay down and whimpered since that seemed to be the appropriate response to something that wasn't really a question.

ooOoo

Alexis and Kate were now convinced that it was Rick and yet Alexis let him jump up onto her bed and sleep with her until he had to pee. Then down the stairs he went to use the puppy pee pads. Afterwards it was over to their bedroom and get Kate to wake up so she could lift him up onto their bed.

Kate was presently parking her car in the garage and gathering her stuff she and Castle were going to need. Since it was the law Rick was on a leash while Kate carried her bag and another bag that held food and water bowls and dog food that needed to go into the refrigerator.

"This better work, Castle, or this is going to be one short trip." None of them really understood Gates. She may or may not have gotten softer over her time as captain. So she might throw both of them out the second they stepped off the elevator.

Gates wasn't in her office and the boys weren't there yet. Kate sat Castle down in his chair and unhooked him. Then put his food away and got him a bowl of water.

"Just like old times." _Bark._

"Castle…Charlie, you know the rules. Gates is more likely to let you stay if you don't bark," Kate reminded him as she turned on her computer and saw she would be spending part of her morning going through the mess that was her inbox.

"Beckett!" Espo was first to arrive and went straight to her. "You sure you should be here?" He'd seen what had happened when Charlie had been killed. He was thinking she really should be taking more time off than this.

"I'm fine, Javi. I'm going to go mad just sitting at home if I stayed there much longer."

"And another new puppy?" Espo spotted Castle sitting in his chair and walked over to him. "Just where do you find all the cute puppies?" Espo braved the puppy teeth and petted him.

"I am **not** cute!" _Bark. Wait, I'm a puppy again so I __**am**__ cute. Bark, bark. Fear my puppy dog eyes, Javi. Bark. _Rick tried them out on him which got him being picked up and cuddled for a moment. Hearing the elevator ding, Espo put Charlie on his chair and went over to his desk.

"Detective Beckett. You have three more weeks of paid leave so why are you here? …And with another puppy?" Gates would never admit it but having that puppy looking at her like that yet again was unnerving.

"I'm fine, sir. I'm still on desk duty and I have someone to keep me company. Alexis named him Charlie again."

"Fear my puppy dog eyes." _Whimper, whimper. There I didn't even bark. HA! _Rick made sure his eyes were as big as he could make them and he only had eyes for Gates.

"No barking!" Gates pointed a finger at him and went to her office to get away from those eyes. If she could put up with the previous puppy that turned into more dog than puppy, she could do it again with this one.

"You're in." Kate was still a little shocked.

"No one can resist these eyes." _Bark, bark. "_I'm super puppy!" _Bark, bark. _"Oh wait, that was Underdog." _Bark._

"NO BARKING!" Gates yelled from her office. With that Rick figured out how to lay down in his chair and look up at everyone with puppy dog eyes.

Kate could only shake her head, smile a little, and get back to her computer at least until the boys caught a case or Castle needed to be taken outside.


	11. Chapter 11

**Charlie III**

_Chapter 11_

_It is now 2 months later_

They had pretty much settled into a routine of sorts. Rick was growing like a weed and slept with Alexis at first before going downstairs to sleep with Kate. Neither one of them actually slept with him, though neither of them threw him off the bed. Rick had actually hoped to at least be hugged but neither of them did that. However, he was at least close to them.

"So what's your plan for today since you don't have school?" Kate asked Alexis after she fed Charlie his breakfast. He may be her husband but he looked like a dog.

"Library. How's the morning sickness?" Alexis questioned her right back.

"Mostly gone, thank you." Kate wasn't sure if it was due to time or the stuff Alexis had her eating and drinking but she felt better.

"Are you taking Charlie into work with you?"

"I'm not sure I have a choice." Kate looked down at Charlie who was just finishing wolfing down his breakfast before looking up at both of them.

"You don't." _Bark. It's my job to protect you and that's what I'm going to do, Kate._ That had Kate and Alexis looking down at him.

"At least know we know why he barks. I think he just answered you," Alexis told Kate. "Well, I have class. You two have fun in the precinct. Just remember your promise." Alexis kissed Kate's cheek, petted Charlie, and hurried out the door.

Kate placed her hand on her now prominent baby bump. There were two in there and she was getting bigger and bigger every week, she was certain. Castle might be back as a dog but these were still going to be her only children and while being chained to her desk did grate on her since she was out of the action. It was just she had never had so much to lose before.

Kate was willing to admit that she had never really thought about having her own children but now that she was pregnant, she wanted children. She already loved these two and couldn't wait for what came next.

There were a few things she wasn't looking forward to. "Dirty diapers, no sleep, babies crying in stereo. You better be ready to have your ears yanked off, Charlie." Kate looked down at him.

They had all tried to learn to call him Charlie instead of Castle or even Richard in Martha's case. None of them needed the potential problems with calling the dog Castle. If Gates caught her doing it she might send her to a psychiatrist for an evaluation.

"It'll be great!" **Bark! **_There will be kids everywhere. This is going to be so much fun!_

ooOoo

Kate didn't even bother with his leash as they rode up the elevator. The doors slid open and she watched Charlie head for her desk while she put his food in the refrigerator and got him a bowl of water like she did every day.

They had both since learned that he was now too big for his chair so he had to sit or lie on the floor. Though he usually wandered around the 4th floor visiting everyone. As a result almost everyone in the building knew who Charlie was and who he belonged to.

Because of this Kate wasn't surprised when she looked down and found him missing. "Just stay out of Gates' office. You're starting to lose those puppy dog eyes of yours," Kate told anyone within earshot of her, though not loud enough for Gates to hear her.

They were presently between cases and even the boys were still here. Or at least they were until Ryan answered his phone. "We got a body." Ryan waved his Post-it Note for all to see.

"Don't worry, we'll take good notes for you," Ryan assured Kate on the way out.

"You better," Kate said, knowing that even if she hadn't voluntarily chained herself to her desk she would be by now anyway. So their notes and pictures were all she was going to have to work with.

Kate watched as Charlie worked his way to sit down next to her. "My mistake, what _we_ need to work with." Kate still wasn't so sure just how but Charlie still managed to input his theories into their cases. It was still a little weird to her.

ooOoo

Kate had rolled her chair up next to the white board so she could study it and make little notes in places. So far most of their best bets on who had killed him all had alibis, so that ruled them out. "Okay, time for a wild theory." Kate looked down at Charlie and waited for it. Of course it was all going to come out as barks and not end up at all useful, but if it made him feel better she would let him.

"Just remember, no barking or Gates will kick you out," Kate reminded him.

"Being a dog is really beginning to suck!" _Whimper, whimper. I can't even help you on cases that much. Unless…_ "What's that smell?" _Bark._

"Detective Beckett. I'm Mike Williams, attorney at law. You are holding Ray Harper, my client." Mike walked over to Kate since he knew her or more accurately knew of her.

"He's in holding. If you're willing to wait I'll have someone bring him out and put him in an interrogation room for you," Kate offered since that was the best she could do.

"You can't do it yourself?" Mike just took a couple of stars off his board for her.

Kate turned around and faced him, placing a hand on her belly. "No, I can't."

"Oh!" Only now did he notice that she was pregnant. "HEY!" He used a hand to swat at the dog that was sniffing his pants. Charlie, however, was undeterred and kept sniffing even if Mike did turn away to get away from the dog.

"Charlie!?" Kate had no idea just what he was up to though he was clearly interested in this guy.

"What is that smell?" _Bark._

"No barking!" Gates yelled from her office.

Espo was now up out of his chair while Ryan just kept watching.

"It's in this pocket, whatever it is, and it's not food!" _Bark, bark!_

"Somebody get this dog off of me!" Mike swatted at Charlie to get the dog's face away from him.

"What, Charlie?" Kate didn't understand. He hadn't done anything like this with anyone else that came up here. So what made this guy so special?

"Let's see what you've got in the pocket, buddy boy!" _Bark, bark, bark. _Instead of sniffing Charlie reached up and out to sink his teeth into the pocket and pulled really hard. Lots of things happened with this action.

First, Mike yelled as the dog ripped open his pants pocket. Enough that it exposed his underwear that he was wearing.

Second it got Gates up and out of her office since something was going on and if Charlie was involved in this she was going to kick him out of her precinct. He had so far not served any useful purpose that she could see. Puppy dog eyes or no.

Third, three small bags with a white powder fell to the floor. "CHARLIE!" Kate reached out to grab him and pulled Charlie away from Mike.

"What's going on out here?" Gates had had enough and didn't need this distraction.

"Your dog attacked me." Mike showed everyone his ripped pants while at the same time showing off his underwear.

"What do we have here?" Kate let go of Charlie who looked down and saw three dime bags filled with cocaine on the floor.

"So that's what that stuff smells like." _Bark, bark. _That had Charlie eyeing Mike and growled at him.

Kate bent down and used the tips of her fingernails to lift up one of the three bags. "Cocaine, counselor?" Kate questioned him.

"I don't know what that stuff is and I've never seen it before in my life. And even if they were in my pocket that was an illegal search and not admissible as evidence," Mike argued.

"Except Charlie here is a drug sniffing dog in training and that gives us all we need to search you," Espo countered.

Kate looked at Mike, her eyebrow arched. "I wonder if we'll find your fingerprints on any of these bags?"

Mike knew it was possible and needed to destroy that part of the evidence. The rest could be settled in court. He lifted his foot with the intent of smashing it down on the two bags on the floor and rubbing them into the floor to destroy evidence.

"Don't you dare move!" **Bark, Growl! **It was enough to get Mike to put his foot back down softly and gently.

ooOoo

Mike was in holding, the cocaine bags had been picked up, tagged, and sent down to Lanie to ID the substance and maybe get fingerprints.

"Drug sniffing dog?" Gates looked at the lot of them, not believing it for a moment. Charlie was just a stupid dog that shouldn't even be here. She was getting soft.

"We started last night, actually. He's still in training." Kate was telling a huge white lie. Since the only scent training Charlie had done last night was sniffing out that she had used her fingers to satisfy herself last night. She had left Charlie outside her door whimpering to be let in. Her pregnancy hormones were in full swing and she had needed sexual release really bad last night.

"That's me!" _Bark._

Gates tried to think this over. "You better make sure he really does start drug training or they'll throw this case out so fast it'll make all of your heads spin." Gates retreated to her office to think this over.

"Nice work, Charlie!" Espo patted his head and went back to his desk.

"I had no idea cocaine could smell like that." _Bark, bark._

"I hope you know what you've done, Charlie. Now I have to arrange for training to make our charges stick so you better be able to duplicate that or he walks," Kate warned him.

"Hey, maybe I can work airports or something." _Bark, bark._

"NO BARKING!" Gates yelled from her office.

"I catch a doped up lawyer and this is the thanks I get." _Whimper, whimper._

ooOoo

Alexis was doing something she thought maybe she shouldn't be given the time of day, but there she was, doing it anyway. Then the front door opened and she jumped nervously since now she had been caught red-handed.

She had barely recovered when Charlie was trying to put his front legs in her lap.

"HEY! Is that ice cream? Can I have some?" **Bark, bark, bark.**

"What's gotten into him?" Alexis half tried to hide her bowl of ice cream from Kate's view.

"He's proud of himself today. He sniffed out an attorney for a suspect we had in holding. Caught him with three dime bags of cocaine on him. Now he's in holding right next to his client while Lanie does a drug test on him," Kate explained and went over to the refrigerator to find what was for dinner tonight.

"I didn't know Dad knew how to sniff out cocaine." Alexis petted him for that but didn't even offer him any of her ice cream.

"Alexis!?" Kate cautioned her since they'd talked about this. They needed to get used to calling the dog Charlie or get caught calling him Castle or Dad.

"I know the difference between being at home and calling him Dad and calling him Charlie everywhere else," Alexis said defensively. "Coke, huh?" Alexis petted him again.

"What are you eating?" Kate had finally spotted her bowl of ice cream. "What happened?" Kate knew by now that the Castle family ate ice cream when they were depressed so something must have happened lately involving Alexis.

"Nothing," Alexis deflected and Kate glared at her. The petite redhead looked at Charlie instead only now he was looking at her with those eyes of his. Alexis groaned. "Grams told me that since her play is doing so well she thinks she can afford to move out. Make room for the twins," Alexis finally told both of them.

"It's about time." _Bark! _That got Charlie getting shoved off of Alexis's lap and onto the floor.

"Well if Martha thinks it's right for her…" Kate's voice trailed off. She wasn't sure just how she felt about Martha moving out. Having Martha around had been fun and a blessing so far. However, if she actually did move out there went one of her babysitters after she gave birth to her twins.

"Don't say that. We need to talk Grams out of this. This is her home, too." Alexis didn't like Kate's reaction. It was why she was eating ice cream. It was all so depressing to her. First her dad died, came back as a dog, and died again. Only to come back as yet another dog and now Grams wanted to move out.

"Alexis, she's a grown woman who raised a son all by herself. She's perfectly capable of making her own decisions. Actually I'm trying to figure out how to raise twins all alone. You're technically in college though I'm still working on why you left the dorms and moved back here," Kate mentioned.

"Hey, what am I? Chopped liver? I can help." _Bark, bark, bark._

"You don't count, Charlie. You're a dog. Can you change diapers? Take them to the doctor when they catch something? Help me feed them?" Kate had a whole list of things Charlie couldn't help her with.

"I still say I can help!" _**Bark!**_

"We'll think of something, I guess. Would you feed him after you finish your ice cream? I'll start making dinner then you can take Charlie outside so he can do his business. We can discuss Martha again when you get back." Kate was betting Alexis wasn't going to let go of that so easily.

ooOoo

"Come on, Dad, I've got your leash, poop bag, keys, and my ID, so let's go." Alexis held out the leash and waited for Charlie to come to her instead of chasing him down.

"Just be careful out there," Kate called out just before Alexis closed the door.

Alexis looked elsewhere while Charlie lifted his leg against a pole and watered it and the sidewalk down a little before moving on.

"I thought Grams liked it here. Why does she want to move so badly?" Alexis was mostly talking to herself since Charlie could only answer yes or no questions and she hadn't asked him one of those.

Charlie, however, suddenly smelled something and he was thinking it was trouble so he stopped and sniffed. His sniffing was soon rewarded with the sight of two pit bulls coming around a corner. He growled; he needed to protect Alexis even if it cost him his life. …Again.

ooOoo

Dinner was ready and Kate had already called Alexis twice but got her voice mail. Now she was starting to get concerned. However, she had to remind herself that Alexis was a very smart and capable young woman.

Then there was a knock at the door that had her hustling to open it. Alexis had a key so it couldn't be her.

Opening it she found a uniformed officer at the door. "Kate Beckett?" he inquired.

"Yes." Now she was more than worried, bordering on being very frightened.

"You know an Alexis Castle?"

"My daughter. What happened? Where is she?" Okay, now she was really was frightened.

"There's been an incident a couple of blocks from here. I need you to come with me, please."

"OH GOD!" She knew, she just knew it. "My keys, my ID, my badge, my weapon." All of that was in the bedroom. She ran to the room, leaving the front door open and the officer standing there.

The officer watched her return with a Glock that she was checking to make sure it was loaded. "I'm afraid I can't allow you to carry that, Ms. Beckett."

Kate, however, wasn't in the mood to talk and held up her badge for him to see. She closed the door behind her and waited for him in the elevator since he knew where to go.

ooOoo

Actually it turned out seeing just where to go was easy enough. There were three patrol cars with their lights on along with an ambulance that had its lights on. Kate broke into a run and left the officer behind.

"Alexis!" Kate saw that she was on a gurney that they were preparing to load into the ambulance. She could also see that her left arm was heavily bandaged.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" Alexis looked to have been crying and now she started back up again. Between the injury and her crying Kate wasn't sure just how much more she could take.

"What happened?" Kate looked at one of the EMTs that were helping to load her into the ambulance.

"Her arm has been mauled by a pit bull. We won't know how badly until we get her to the emergency room," he said to Kate.

"I tried. I really tried to get them off Dad. I'm so sorry." Now the crying was turning into sobs. She had watched as two pit bulls ripped Charlie to pieces right in front of her. It was a memory she was never going to forget no matter how long she lived.

"Charlie!?" If she had heard right it meant Charlie was around here somewhere. Kate watched as Alexis was loaded into the ambulance and was told where they would be taking her.

It was only after the ambulance was out of sight that Kate went looking for Charlie and soon found him. What was left of him.

"**OH GOD!**"Kate dropped to her knees, looked Charlie over, and actually saw that his eyes were open. Next to him were two dead pit bulls that looked like they'd been shot, maybe.

"I had to." _Whimper._

"NO, CASTLE! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!" Kate felt her own tears starting. This wasn't right. This wasn't how life was supposed to go. It shouldn't be filled with this much pain.

ooOoo

Rick looked around and realized he was sitting in a train car yet again. "Not again!" How many times was he supposed to die anyway?

"No, I don't want anything to eat, just some ice water, please." He wasn't even remotely hungry. Rick told the conductor or waiter or whatever he was exactly that when he came by to take his order after handing out a card telling him what today's selections were.

ooOoo

Getting out of the train was just like all the other times. He ignored the people that had to ask questions and made his way to the large double doors to find out what happened now.

The room he ended up in all alone looked just like the same room from the previous two times. "My life's story all over again." Rick hung his head.

"Mr. Castle. You've led an interesting life. Stole a police horse while naked. Worked closely with a homicide detective helping to solve homicides, I see. Then you married her." His reviewer had shown up.

"And you are?" Rick didn't recognize him from the last two times.

"My name is Luis Garavito and I'm here to go over your life history so we can decide what happens to you next."

"Luis Garavito, Luis Garavito. …Columbia, Ecuador and Venezuela also known as _La Bestia. _Or _the Beast _in English. Known to have killed 138 children. Believed to have killed over 300. Between 1992 and 1999." Rick rolled his eyes. Why in the name of God were all of the reviewers serial killers? Or was it just his luck?

"Interesting, most people have never heard of me." He was actually impressed a little. "I see here that this is your third time with us. It says here that you sacrificed your own life on three separate occasions. Very interesting."

"I think we can dispense with the picture show. Follow me, please," Luis instructed Rick who eventually followed him since he knew his luck at getting another dog sucked.

"Through this door, Mr. Castle. …You're going to need this." His pad printed out a ticket for him to use which Rick found to be different. "It will tell you which train to board, Mr. Castle. Just down that way," Luis pointed and let the door close.

Rick suddenly found himself back in the main station where there were a number of tracks with about half having a train sitting there waiting.

"But I don't have a card! Where's the tree?" How was he supposed to get back to Kate and his family without a card telling him what he was going to be now? They had skipped a step this time. He was so screwed!

Rick saw someone that looked like he worked here. "Excuse me."

"Ticket?" Rick watched as he snatched it out of his hand. "Track number eleven is down there on your left. You have 30 minutes so you will need to hurry." He handed it back to Rick and began looking around for someone else that was lost.

ooOoo

Finding and getting on the train was easy as was finding his seat since all that was on his ticket.

Like the previous two times they served two selections of delicious meals. Complete with coffee and that very same bottle of Scotch that was seriously expensive. Rick decided on the Filet Mignon this time.

"Where's this train going?" Rick asked the man who poured his glass of Scotch.

"Earth, of course. We don't usually get that many passengers so this is a small train. Do you require anything else, sir?" He would get him whatever he asked for so long as it was actually on the train.

Rick drank his Scotch in one swallow and held out his glass for a refill. "I'm good, thanks," Rick said after getting his glass refilled with Scotch. He might as well kill the pain that he was betting was ahead of him.


	12. Chapter 12

Charlie III

_Chapter 12_

_Epilogue_

Rick was happy with his Christmas present for Kate even if he was going to have to come back later and pick it up after it was altered for her neck size. He was even proud of himself that he had gotten Kate's neck size without her ever noticing that he'd done it. Oh, she would say that he had spent too much money and that she hadn't married him for his money. It was just that he had the money and he wanted to spend it on the people that he loved most.

He'd bought her a Mauboussin 18k yellow gold diamond choker necklace. Approximately 2.25ctw of diamonds. The diamond color was G/H and VS in clarity. Yes, it was expensive but Kate was worth it and more. He was happy with himself as he stepped out of the store that he'd found.

He had seen the movers when he'd gone into the store and tried to make a mental note to avoid them on the way out. However, his mind was on the look of surprise that was going to be on everyone's face this Christmas.

A flash of yellow tape had him stopping and looking around. It looked a lot like the yellow tape that was used at a crime scene. That made him smile. "A murder and Kate didn't call me." Or had she? He stopped to check his phone for a missed text. He began to look and heard the squealing of tires which got his attention.

"SHIT!" Rick took a single step just as he heard the car slam into the equipment being used to lift something heavy up to a place very high up. It was a common sight around New York City when whatever it was either too big to fit in an elevator or too heavy to go up the stairs. Turning back around he saw the damage just before a heavy container crashed to the sidewalk just a couple of feet from where he had been standing.

Rick clutched his chest over his racing heart. Just a moment ago he'd been standing there. If he had stayed right where he was he would be crushed and very dead right now.

ooOoo

In the end after spending two hours at the site talking to the police, the store owner, and the moving company they had all worked out that the yellow caution tape had come loose and was lying on the sidewalk. They had put it up to keep people from walking under the container.

He was lucky to be alive. The moving company was issued a citation for failing to make the sidewalk safe. The driver of the car had had a piece of the lifting equipment go through the windshield and decapitated him so he was dead before being extracted from the car.

The damaged moving equipment was still in place, though the wrecked car was long gone. Tow truck companies were really fast in this city since tow and storage meant profit.

ooOoo

Rick's enthusiasm about his purchase was tempered given the fact that he had just escaped being crushed to death. Taking a deep breath to try and calm himself, he unlocked the door and entered the loft to find everyone, including his mother, in the kitchen. "Please tell me you're not cooking, Mother," Rick said as he approached the kitchen.

"Ha, ha. I have no need to cook any longer given that you managed to marry someone who knows how to cook."

"Thank you, Martha. At least someone is paying attention." Kate threw a dagger at Rick and smiled since she didn't really mean it.

"Where have you been, Dad?" He'd been gone for hours.

"Christmas shopping. I had just one final gift to get."

"And yet you came back empty-handed," Alexis pointed out.

"Wrapped then delivered. You have to love New York City." You could get anything delivered in this city. It was a white lie since Rick was going to go back and pick it up. "Are you done with your Christmas shopping?" Rick challenged her.

"I was done a month ago. I don't procrastinate like you do," Alexis answered with a grin.

"She's got you there, Castle." Kate had long since learned that Rick put nearly everything off until the last second. She was even amazed that he wouldn't be out shopping the day before or even on Christmas Day itself.

"So what's for dinner?" Rick changed the subject since he was losing this conversation.

"One of my mother's favorite dishes and no, I'm not telling you what it is. It's a surprise," Kate told him.

Rick rolled his eyes. "This from the woman who hates surprises."

"I hate getting surprises but I'm learning to love giving them. I blame you." Kate smiled at him briefly before going back to cooking. "Out of my kitchen, Castle. No peeking." She pushed Rick out of the kitchen since he was crowding her to try and figure out what she was cooking. "No taste-testing, either."

Kate called out for some support. "Escort your father to his study so he can type or something, please, Alexis."

"Come on, Dad. You lose, so lose gracefully and go type something about Nikki." Alexis took his arm, escorted him to his study, and left him there.

ooOoo

Rick was already in bed, waiting for Kate to join him since she had to finish her nightly routine. "Would you like one of your Christmas presents early, Castle?" Kate called from the bathroom.

"Are you reading my mind again, Kate?" Rick sat up straight and tried to think of what his present could be. He had already searched most of the loft, looking for any present let alone the ones that had his name on them. However, he'd come up empty. He was also pretty sure he had searched the bathroom and that included the forced air registers.

"Ready!" Rick was more than ready. That Kate would actually celebrate Christmas with him let alone give him an early Christmas present was amazingly…extraordinary.

Kate was so looking forward to this. She had fought loving him for far too long and now that she did, she couldn't imagine loving him more. Maybe his Christmas Day present might change that. But she was ready to give him his early Christmas present.

Rick watched as the bathroom door opened and out walked a completely naked Kate. Kate Beckett, Kate Castle, his wife. "Merry Christmas to me!" He still couldn't imagine anyone more beautiful than her. Maybe she saw her scars but he didn't. She was perfect.

ooOoo

Rick was up early and had dragged Kate with him into the shower since today was Christmas Day. Santa would have left all of them presents and he wanted to be clean when he opened them.

It also gave him a chance to make love to the woman of his dreams.

"Let's go, Kate. Santa's been here." Rick left their bedroom and hurried into the living room where he found Alexis in her pajamas already out here looking over each present.

"Like father like daughter," Rick smiled. She was doing what he was looking so forward to doing.

ooOoo

Rick couldn't wait to see their faces so he handed out his Christmas presents first and couldn't resist watching them look at what he had given them.

He was really proud of how he had wrapped them. No, it wasn't the wrapping paper. It was what was inside that wrapping paper.

Alexis started first and like her dad would do and had taught her, she ripped all the paper off only to find another box wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper. "Really, Dad?" Alexis was not amused though Rick was smiling wide since he was loving it. So this time she slowly and very carefully began to remove the Christmas wrapping paper.

Kate saw Alexis's gift and was betting hers was the same so she slowly removed the paper to find more wrapping paper that came off to show her a brown shipping box.

Alexis was intentionally toying with her father and wasn't as far along as Kate was.

Kate opened the box to find it filled with tissue paper and saw a box that showed there was another box inside that. However, this box had the name and symbol of a jewelry store she knew well. LaBella only sold the most expensive of items. "What have you done, Castle?" She knew her husband. He had gone and spent a fortune on whatever was inside this box.

Alexis, meanwhile, had finally reached the interior and saw a large manila envelope inside. The envelope itself was quite plain and so unlike her dad. Still she opened it and there were a series of papers including a few pictures.

"OH MY GOD, CASTLE!" Kate had cracked it open to take a peek then opened it fully so she could see it. "It's gorgeous." She would worry about when she was ever going to wear it later. For now she was running a finger across the surface of it.

It was gold with a horizontal diamond motif and seven individual diamonds embedded at regular intervals. Suddenly she found Rick's hands going past her and reaching for it, lifting it out of the box. Kate moved her hair out of the way and allowed him to place it around her neck. It was a choker and fit perfectly. She was only a little surprised that it fit her neck so perfectly. Of course only Castle would know her neck size since she herself didn't know.

Suddenly from nowhere he handed her a hand mirror so she could see it on her. Kate took it and looked at herself. She saw her mouth hanging open until finally she closed it, just looking and running her left hand over it to make sure it was real. "It's gorgeous, Castle, but you shouldn't have." She wasn't worth having him spend this kind of money on her.

"You deserve it, Kate. It may not have cost what some of those jewels from the Delgatto case did. Do you remember? It was the very first black tie event I took you to. But it's nice." He knew Kate would never go for him spending that kind of money on her.

"It's gorgeous." Kate put the mirror down so she could get up and kiss him.

"Dad, what is all this?" Alexis saw it and was reading it but it didn't make any sense to her.

"It's yours. I bought it for you. I'll even pay all the bills so long as you stay in school," Rick told her as he left Kate, moved over to Alexis, and sat down next to her. He pointed at the address, 1108 Auahi Street #907 Honolulu, Hawaii 96814

"Hawaii? What's in Hawaii?" Alexis was reading but didn't understand it.

"I've come to the realization that I'm suffocating you. I talked you out of going to Stanford or Oxford like you had dreamed because I didn't want to lose you. I forced you to attend a university that was close and I'm sorry. So very sorry.

"I need to let you grow up, make your own mistakes, and be Alexis Castle. So I bought you a two bedroom, two bathroom condo in Honolulu. It's about 3.4 miles from the University of Hawaii. You could get yourself one of those scooters you wanted so badly and use it to get to school and this." Rick pulled out a sheet of paper from his gift.

"This is a list of doctorate courses. Surely there's one in there that interests you. It's a very good university or so I've read," Rick explained.

"Oh, Dad!" Alexis had so much to say but didn't know where to start.

"You really are an amazing man, Richard Castle." Kate hugged him from behind and kissed his back. "OH! Your Christmas presents." Kate left him and hurried over to the impossibly big Christmas tree that she'd actually helped set up.

"Here and here. It's not much but it's from the heart." Kate handed each of them her Christmas gift.

Rick smiled wide in anticipation while he tore off the wrapping paper off, ripped open his box to find out what it was, and slowly took out a little plastic stick. He still wasn't just quite sure what it was but it wasn't what he was expecting.

Alexis, however, knew exactly what it was. She ripped hers open even faster than her father had and saw a stick just like his. "Mine has a plus on it." Alexis looked at Kate and smiled wide and leapt off of the sectional to hug her. "Really?" Alexis wanted to hear it.

"I'm late so I bought some pregnancy test sticks just to be sure a couple of days ago. I still have to go to the doctor to verify but…" Kate had to stop talking when Alexis tried to break every bone in her body with a hug.

"You're pregnant?" Rick was a little slower than his daughter.

"Looks that way." Kate was beaming. She had never really thought about having a family especially having her mother's unsolved murder weighing on her. But she'd solved that with Rick's help. Then seeing Rick with Alexis and Martha she finally felt ready to have a family. She didn't know if it was a him or a her, but she loved it all the same.

Alexis was replaced by her husband who wasn't just crushing every bone in her body but he was kissing her which had her hugging him and kissing him back.

"Grams is missing everything." Alexis couldn't believe she was missing out.

"I have a pregnancy test stick for her too," Kate assured her.

ooOoo

Kate was still on the exam table with her belly exposed for herself, Rick, and the ultrasound tech to see. She and Rick were looking at the picture of her _babies!_ Both she and Rick were still in shock.

The tech hadn't found one baby, she had found twins. She had even allowed them to hear the seriously fast heart beat of both of them.

"Twins?" What in the world were they going to do with twins? Kate was still wrapping her mind around being pregnant let alone this!

"TWINS!" Rick shot his arms up in the air. Kate wasn't just amazing, she really was extraordinary. She had married him or had allowed him to marry her. Now she was going to have twins and that was a dream he hadn't even dared to dream.

"Twins." Kate still wasn't sure what to think. Okay, Castle was happy, but he could be made happy with a remote controlled helicopter. This was twins. _Two babies!_

ooOoo

Rick, Kate who was now eight months pregnant with twins that were a boy and a girl, as well as Alexis who had her carry-on bag over her shoulder were just outside of the security section of the airport.

"You're going to be great, Alexis." Kate did her best to hug her given that she was as big as a house.

"I'm going to miss the birth of the babies." Alexis knew school was starting soon and she hadn't even set foot inside her condo yet. And she had a lot of shopping to do as well. The kitchen was basically empty. It had come furnished but just how far did furnished go was the question. Besides everything else it wouldn't have any food.

"I'll send you a video," Rick promised her as his tears began to well up. His baby girl was moving away and it was his idea.

"You'll do no such thing! If you bring a video camera I'll shoot you," Kate threatened him.

"I thought you liked pictures?" Rick knew they both had a lot of pictures of them naked.

"CASTLE!" If she had a weapon on her she would shoot him right now for that.

"Way too much information, Dad, way too much," Alexis said but was all smiles. Until it was time to hug her dad. She was actually moving out of the loft and going far, far away to go to college. Alexis hugged her dad and felt herself crying. She was about to actually grow up and find out just who she was.

"You'll come visit with the twins?" Alexis realized she didn't want to be that cut off from her family.

"That's why it's a two bedroom and two bathroom condo," Rick said and only let go of her after she let go of him.

"Better go, Alexis, the line looks a little long." Kate tried to give her a little push.

"I love you, Dad." Alexis hugged him tighter.

"I love you too, pumpkin." Rick hugged her back.

Alexis moved to hug Kate another time. "Good luck with him." She knew her dad was a handful.

"Hey!" Rick had heard that.

"He'll be too busy taking care of the twins to get into too much trouble but I'll watch him," Kate promised.

Rick and Kate waited until they couldn't see her any longer before they turned around to go home.

"What is Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering again?" What Alexis had chosen for her major for now was so far over his head he was lost.

"I'm proud of you, Rick. You let go of her right when you needed to. She's going to grow into an amazing woman who's smarter than either of us or both of us combined. I'll explain it to you again while you feed me. I'm starving." Alexis had a 6:30 am flight and wouldn't land until about 3:00 pm local time and they'd skipped breakfast to get her here early.

"Just think, the next time we see her she'll have a boyfriend who has taught her how to surf." Kate knew that would get a rise out of him.

"We need to go back and stop her." Rick began to turn around before Kate stopped him. "I don't know what I was thinking. You realize Hawaii is filled with barechested guys on all those beaches, right?" Rick went with her but he was dragging his feet.

"Yep and so do you or you wouldn't have bought her that place. Alexis is going to be amazing. Now you just have to do the same for these two." Kate put her hand on her belly while not letting go of him so he would keep leaving the airport.

That had Rick smiling. He had two more babies to raise and cherish and he was totally going to enjoy this. He was meant to be a dad and he knew it.

Rick heard his phone alert him so he pulled it out. "Gina." Rick slumped. Alexis was going away today and Gina was bugging him already.

"What does she want?" Rick was hers now and she wasn't sharing with either of his ex-wives.

"She sent her comments back and wants them returned in three weeks." Rick put his phone away since he didn't want to think about it.

"I'll hide your remote control helicopter and tank so you don't get distracted," Kate grinned.

"I thought you loved me," Rick pouted since what she was threatening didn't sound like love to him.

"I love you more than I thought I would ever love anyone, babe. I still can't believe you waited for me. Any sane man would have dumped me years ago." Kate shook her head in amazement.

"You were worth it, you've always been worth it." Rick put an arm around her and held her close to him as they walked slowly. It was Kate's new walking pace.

"We should go check on Alexis's puppy," Rick reminded her since he had been left with the vet last night so he could be shipped out to Hawaii in a few days.

1\. Pets will need a microchip implanted for identification.

2\. The pet will need a rabies shot and a booster, which can be no less than three months apart and not more than one year apart.

3\. Animals should have passed a blood serum test, with results e-mailed to Hawaii officials by the testing lab. Pets cannot enter the state until 120 days after the blood sample is received by the state.

4\. Hawaii officials must receive a health certificate from the pet's veterinarian at least 10 days before the animal's arrival, with all test results and health certificates sent by e-mail to prevent fraud.

5\. At the airport, animal quarantine officials will inspect every incoming pet, check its chip to confirm its identity and release the animal to its owner if everything is in order.

"It'll help keep her company while she's there. And keep her mind off of being alone until she makes new friends." Kate thought it was genius.

"A collie named Charlie." Rick wasn't so sure about the name though he was a gorgeous dog he was willing to admit. "Maybe we can get one for the twins." Rick was finally all smiles again.

"We're not naming him Charlie, or Astro, or Marmaduke, or Cosmo, or any other comic book name." Kate knew she couldn't stop him from getting a dog but she could have a say in what he or she was named.

"You drive a hard bargain, Kate Castle." He would find a name from somewhere.

"I think you need to drive me to the hospital first, though. …My water just broke," Kate announced just as they reached their car.

"WHAT! You can't! It's too early!" Rick yelped frantically.

"I don't think it's up to me, Castle," Kate said dryly.

ooOoo

Kate was awake but was headed for bed so she could get some sleep. She was advised not to start pumping for the first two weeks to give her breasts time to produce lots of milk since she had twins to feed.

It had meant Castle couldn't help her with everything at first. But since she'd started pumping he could now. Her milk went into bags that went into the freezer before being warmed up in a bottle. Something Rick showed he knew exactly what to do.

"What are you doing?" Kate asked him as she walked into his study on her way to their bedroom.

"Sending Alexis, Mother, the guys, and Lanie the latest pictures of Brayden Edgar and Brianna Ellen. I thought they might like some recent pictures to see who's keeping both of us awake."

Kate wrapped her arms around him from behind and watched him add pictures. "You're adding a picture of Maggie?" Maggie was their Golden Labrador puppy that couldn't stay away from either of the twins. They were both sure she was willing them to get up and come play with her.

"She's a puppy and is going to grow faster than the twins," Rick reminded her.

Kate's name choice had won out over his idea of calling the puppy Jo after Kate's mother. But it didn't matter, Maggie was interested in everyone in the Loft and that included all of their friends who had stopped by to see the babies.

"Well, I'm going to get some sleep since my leave is up and I'm going back to work after the weekend." She was grateful that she could roll some of her vacation over into her maternity leave, giving her more time to spend with the twins. "You could join me and give me a reason to stay awake," Kate purred. She kissed his head and put a little extra wiggle in her hips as she walked away.

"I love my life!" Rick pressed ENTER after typing a note to Alexis asking how she was doing. He could call and ask but he was really trying not to suffocate his baby girl who was growing up fast.

Rick was stripping off his clothes from the door to the bed as Kate climbed naked into their bed. Maybe they could get in some practice for baby number three!


End file.
